DNA MixUp
by Yvette1
Summary: The Turtles meet a hybrid girl with a fuzzy past, and a troubled future.*last two chapters* Thanks for the reviews everyone! Its a wrap!
1. Stealing hunter bounty

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ninja Turtles or regular characters from the show, I just use them to make my stories more interesting. ( If anyone would like to use any of the new characters in the story, please ask me first, thanks! Enjoy the fic!  
  
  
  
DNA Mix-Up  
  
By: Yvette  
  
  
  
  
  
It was a very quiet night in the summer as the Raphael and Mikey were coming home from taking an after dinner walk.  
  
Mikey burped loudly. "Whoa, excuse me." he said.  
  
"Man Mikey, that stinks." said Raph, waving his hand in front of his face. "What was on that pizza you ate anyway."  
  
"Anchovies, what else?" replied Mikey.  
  
"Gross man, that's just gross." said Raph.  
  
Just as they were passing a building, Raph noticed a shadow creep into the side door.  
  
"Hey, you see that?" asked Raph.  
  
"See what?" asked Mikey, turning around.  
  
"That shadow go in that building." replied Raph as he stopped walking to look at the building.  
  
"No dude, I didn't see anything." said Mikey.  
  
Raph looked at the building for a long time.  
  
"Maybe we should go dude, these streetlights make us real visible." said Mikey.  
  
"Yeah, you're right." said Raph.  
  
Mikey began walking towards home, when he saw Raph go into the shadows created by the tall building. He sighed. "Here we go again, Raph on the job." Then he walked over to Raph.  
  
Raph went to the side of the building, and turned the doorknob; it was open. He was about to go inside when Mikey stopped him.  
  
"Um, shouldn't we get the others if we're gonna go investigating?" asked Mikey.  
  
"They'll just slow us down. I just wanna see who, or what went in there." said Raph. Then he turned to Mikey. "You can go home if you want, but I'm not, not yet anyway."  
  
Mikey sighed. "Nah, I'll stay here. Someone's gotta have your back."  
  
Raph said nothing, he just crept into the building, followed by Mikey.  
  
Inside was dimly lit with light from the streetlights and moon.  
  
The two Turtles walked around a bit. They soon saw came into another dark room, but heard voices coming from another room nearby.  
  
"Yeah, she's definitely worth a bundle." said a man.  
  
"I knew it! It took me a lot of trouble to get this thing, I knew she had to be worth something." said a familiar voice.  
  
"Bonehead." Raph growled as he and Mikey listened in.  
  
"So when do you expect to sell 'er?" asked the other guy.  
  
"When she wakes up, then they can see her in action." said Bonsteel. "But thanks for comin' and appraisin' the brat."  
  
"No problem, anytime." said the guy. "Now lemme show you this rare white tiger that I have out back."  
  
Then Mikey and Raph heard footsteps, and hid behind a few huge crates in the room.  
  
Raph saw the man and Bonesteel come out of the room. They both went to another part of the building, talking about the white tiger.  
  
"Are they gone yet?" asked Mikey.  
  
"Yep, they just left." said Raph, standing up.  
  
Mikey also stood up. "I wonder what they got in there."  
  
"The same thing I was thinkin." said Raph. He began approaching the room where the two guys were in.  
  
Mikey followed him into the room.  
  
There, they saw a large, thick-barred cage. Inside was a girl of about 16, lying on the bottom, unconcious.  
  
Raph and Mikey both raised an eyeride.  
  
"Bonehead is marketing kids now?" asked Raph.  
  
"Man, that's wrong." said Mikey.  
  
Raph stepped closer to the cage to get a better look at the girl.  
  
She had very long black hair, and was wearing a brown suede suit that was almost as brown as her skin.  
  
Raph went closer to her and looked at her carefully.  
  
"Hey Raph, I think I hear them coming back." said Mikey, looking nervous.  
  
Raph glanced over at Mikey. "Yeah, we better go." he said. Then he took out a portable knife. "But not alone."  
  
Mikey turned around just in time to see Raph jimmying the lock to the cage the girl was in. "Raph! What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm gettin' her out. She don't need to be in no cage." said Raph as he finally opened the cage.  
  
Mikey looked nervous as he saw Bonesteel's shadow approaching the room. "Raph." he whined.  
  
Raph reached into the cage, and picked the girl up. He looked at her while he held her, and couldn't help to think that something just wasn't right with her.  
  
"Raph!" Mikey shouted.  
  
Raph turned around to see Bonesteel angrily running into the room.  
  
"What are you freaks doin' with my bounty?!" exclaimed Bonesteel.  
  
"We'd love to stay and chat, but we gotta go." said Raph.  
  
Then he and Mikey pushed past Bonesteel and ran out of the building.  
  
"Turtles!!" exclaimed Bonesteel as they ran off.  
  
Mikey and Raph went down the manhole, and ran home.  
  
At home, Leo was pacing up and down.  
  
"Leonardo, they'll be fine. You'll get blisters if you keep pacing like that." said Venus as she sat on the couch.  
  
"I can't help it. A walk never takes this long." said Leo.  
  
"Well can you at least pace somewhere else? I'm trying to watch television." said Venus.  
  
Leo stopped and looked at her.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
Just then, Mikey and Raph entered the room.  
  
"There you guys are! Where have you been?" asked Leo.  
  
"Cool your jets Leo, we were out steeling hunter bounty." said Raph, as he walked over to the couch.  
  
Leo looked at what, or who, Raph was holding. "What are you doing bringing a human here?! Are you crazy?!" asked Leo.  
  
Venus stood up and smacked Leo on the back of his head. "Calm down Leonardo!" she said.  
  
Donatello turned around from his computer, and noticed the human in their midst. "Oh my." he said.  
  
"Splinter isn't gonna like this." said Leo as Donny came over.  
  
"I'm not going to like what?" asked Splinter.  
  
The group turned around and noticed Splinter standing there.  
  
"Master. Raph has brought a human home." said Leo.  
  
"Tattle tale." said Raph as he laid the girl down on the couch.  
  
Splinter came over to the couch, and looked down at the girl. Then he looked back at Raph. "Why have you brought this girl home?" he asked sternly.  
  
Raph could tell that Splinter was unhappy. "She was in a cage, in Bonesteel's hideout. He was gonna sell her."  
  
Splinter turned to Mikey. "You were with him, is this true?"  
  
"Yeah, sure is Master. We heard their conversation." said Mikey.  
  
"Why would Bonesteel wanna sell a human? I thought exotic and rare animals were more his forte." said Donny.  
  
"Perhaps he is into, what they call, the black market trade of selling children." said Splinter.  
  
"Even so, wouldn't he try and sell someone younger?" asked Venus.  
  
"Who knows." said Leo.  
  
"Let her be. She must rest." said Splinter.  
  
"What? You're letting her stay here?" asked Leo, following Splinter off to his room.  
  
"She can stay until we find out who she is." said Splinter. "Now please, leave me so I can rest." Then he went into his room.  
  
Leo sighed deeply, then turned around and looked at the girl. "Humans. . ." said Leo. Then he went into the kitchen where Mikey was. 


	2. Learning about the stranger

The girl hadn't woken up at all that night, so the Turtles decided to go to bed.  
  
The next morning, when Venus came out to the living room, she noticed that the girl was no longer on the couch. She got worried, and began looking around.  
  
Leo and Mikey then came out of their rooms, and noticed Venus' expression.  
  
"What is it Venus?" asked Leo.  
  
"Look at the couch. The girl is no longer there." said Venus.  
  
Mikey and Leo glanced at the couch.  
  
"Where is she?" asked Mikey.  
  
"I don't know." replied Venus.  
  
The three began walking out to the kitchen, and then noticed that the fridge was open and someone was rummaging through it.  
  
"Hey!" said Leo.  
  
The girl quickly turned around with a surprised expression on her face.  
  
The Turtles were shocked; they'd never seen someone that looked quite like she did.  
  
Her eyes were of a deep yellow/brown, and on top of her head sat two black cat ears.  
  
"Yipe." said Mikey.  
  
The girl's expression was that of shock as she backed up against the wall near the fridge.  
  
"What, what, what is she?" asked Mikey as he shook a bit.  
  
"Stay back, don't go near her." said Leo as he stood in front of everyone else.  
  
"Amazing." said a stupefied Donny.  
  
The girl had almost pasted herself to the wall. "Who are you?" she asked.  
  
"You tell us who you are, and what you are. Then we'll tell you about us." said Leo.  
  
"We mean you no harm." said Venus reassuringly.  
  
The girl looked at them for a long while, apparently trying to decide what to do. She finally relaxed a bit, and slid down the wall until she was sitting down.  
  
"Good, very good. Just stay calm." said Leo.  
  
"What are you?" asked the girl.  
  
"You tell us who you are first." said Raph.  
  
The girl didn't say anything, she just stared at them.  
  
Donny sighed. "Lemme just explain it to her." He then began explaining about the mutagen they were exposed to, and their mutation.  
  
Suprisingly enough, the girl actually seemed to understand all of that.  
  
"Okay kid, your turn." said Raph.  
  
The Turtles were now sitting on the couch, and the girl was seated on the center table.  
  
"My story is rather different than yours." said the girl. "I never knew my mother, in fact, all I knew were scientists. I grew up in an observatory room, and went through tests all the time. There was one scientist in particular that was in charge of my tests. I don't remember his name, only how he looked; he scared me. He always referred to me as a hybrid, 60% human, 40% animal, panther to be exact." said the girl. "I hated living there, and one day, when I had become strong enough, I broke free of the observatory room, and ran away. I must've been around 9 or 10 years old at the time, I don't know."  
  
"Where did you go?" asked Venus.  
  
"I ran very far and ended up in Brasil, where I was stayed with a family of panthers. They accepted me, and I felt like I had a family. But then when I got old enough, and the other cubs left, I went off on my own." said the girl.  
  
"What's your name?" asked Mikey.  
  
"An Indian once called me 'gato da noite', meaning cat of the night, but I gave my self the name Ashton, since the fur on my ears seems ash- colored sometimes." said the girl.  
  
"How did you get up here to the US?" asked Donny.  
  
"I was minding my own business eating some fish by the river, when this strange man who'd been persuing me for days finally found me. I was about to run, but I felt this sharp pain, I got sleepy, and . . . then I woke up here." said Ashton.  
  
"Well, we didn't bring you here. Raph and Mikey did." said Leo.  
  
Raph and Mikey raised their hands.  
  
Ashton looked at them.  
  
"We saved your life kid. You were up in Bonesteel's place, he's the guy who shot you." Raph.  
  
"He was gonna sell you, so Raph decided to get you out of the cage you were in, and take you back home with us." said Mikey.  
  
"Thank you." she said quietly. "I'm hungry." she said, looking back towards the kitchen.  
  
"What exactly do you eat?" asked Venus.  
  
"Raw meat usually." said Ashton.  
  
"Well, there isn't much of that in there." said Leo.  
  
Just then, Splinter came out of his room.  
  
Ashton turned to him, and her ears twitched.  
  
Splinter's whiskers twitched as he looked at her; he knew she was of the feline persuasion.  
  
"Is that the rat father you mentioned?" asked Ashton, turning to Venus.  
  
"Yes he is." said Venus.  
  
"And you can't eat him." said Leo.  
  
"Why would I want to?" asked Ashton.  
  
"Well you're a feline, he's, well, a rat . . ."  
  
Ashton gave Leo a funny look. "Just because I'm a feline doesn't mean that I'm prone to eat rodents."  
  
Splinter appeared relieved that she wasn't going to attack him.  
  
"What is your name young one?" asked Splinter.  
  
"Ashton."  
  
Splinter looked at her for a moment, and thought. "Ashton. Welcome."  
  
Ashton gave a small smile.  
  
  
  
  
  
Please tell me what you think so far, I need to know what the readers want to see happen in the next chapters to come. I know the story has a sort of shaky start, but I promise, it will get better. 


	3. Observing/Angering

The Turtles, Splinter, and Ashton sat around the table eating breakfast.  
  
Leo couldn't help but look over at what Ashton was eating; a raw piece of beef. "She doesn't even use utensils." he thought.  
  
Ashton noticed him looking over, and looked over at him. "What? Don't think that those stale Fruit Loops you're eating are any more appetizing than a good chunk of raw meat."  
  
"At least my food was never an animal." said Leo.  
  
"Be glad I didn't decide to eat you." said Ashton, swallowing a piece of meat.  
  
"You couldn't anyway, I have a shell, a strong shell." said Leo proudly.  
  
"No matter, I've eaten tortoise by a pond before." said Ashton.  
  
The entire table grew silent, dropped their utensils and looked at Ashton, fear frozen in their eyes.  
  
"Oh come on, there was nothing else to eat. If its any consolation, it tasted horrible." said Ashton, then she sunk her sharp canines back into the meat in front of her.  
  
"Uh Master, do you think she's safe to be around?" asked Leo.  
  
Splinter thought for a moment. "She presents no harm. Do not worry yourselves." he said, returning to his breakfast.  
  
Venus nodded in agreement, then slowly went back to eating.  
  
  
  
Later on, after breakfast, Ashton washed her face off with tap water from the sink. Then she sat down on the center table, took out her nails and began combing her hair.  
  
Donny sat near Ashton with a notebook and pen. He periodically wrote things down as he looked at her.  
  
Ashton hadn't even noticed him as she blissfully combed her hair. After a while, she stopped combing, and her nails retracted. She looked over at Donny.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked.  
  
Donny was a bit startled, he didn't know she noticed him. "Oh, nothing." he said, then quickly jotted something else down.  
  
Ashton looked at his notebook and how he wrote in it while watching her.  
  
He reminds me of those scientists. What is there to watch? Why can't I just live in peace without being stared at like I'm some kind of freak?!  
  
Ashton grew angry. "Stop it!" she yelled.  
  
Donny looked up, startled.  
  
The others in the room looked at her.  
  
"You remind me of those scientists! I thought I got away from types like those, just stop watching me!" shouted Ashton as she stood up. She snatched Donny's notebook and began ferociously tearing it to shreds with her nails. Then she dropped it on the ground, and began walking towards the exit of the lair.  
  
"Where are you going? Its not safe out there. Its daytime." said Leo.  
  
Ashton stopped and stood near the exit, trembling from anger.  
  
"Ashton?" called Venus.  
  
Ashton stood very quietly for a moment, then she looked to the side of her, and suddenly sprang up from where she was standing, and up to the top of one of the subway cars.  
  
Everyone was startled.  
  
Donny began reaching for another notebook.  
  
"Donatello!" said Master Splinter.  
  
Donny looked over at him.  
  
"Stop reaching for that notebook, now." said Splinter firmly.  
  
Donny quickly did so.  
  
"Man, now look what you've done. You got her all mad and what not." said Mikey.  
  
Venus walked by Donny. "Seems science creates more problems than it solves." she said coolly.  
  
Donny just sat there and sighed. "What a lot of trouble over some simple observing."  
  
"How would you feel if someone observed you?! How would you feel if you grew up being observed, and tested, and locked away in some plastic prison? Would you want to be observed some more?!" hissed Ashton as her eyes narrowed almost to slits.  
  
Donny moved away from the area Ashton was in. "I'm sorry, its just that I've never seen a hybrid, only mutants and humans."  
  
"Well now you've seen a hybrid okay?!" exclaimed Ashton.  
  
No one said anything, they just looked at her.  
  
She turned away from them, breathing hard, and uttering a low growl. "I need to get out of here. I need to be free." Then she turned to them. "Do you know how bad it stinks down here?! Its disgusting! I can't stand this, its like being in confinement in that laboratory all over again."  
  
(I feel like I'm going crazy, I can't stand it in here, I wanna leave so badly. I need those tall trees, that beautiful river . . . I can't stand this filth!)  
  
"Well we can't go out until 7pm, its only 12pm now." said Leo.  
  
Ashton hung her head down and clasped her hands over it. "Pantera preta com alma torturada. Pantera preta com alma torturada . . ." she muttered.  
  
"What's she saying?" asked Raph.  
  
Splinter listened. "Its Portuguese. I don't know what it means though, but she is upset. We must leave her alone until much later."  
  
Mikey looked up at her and sighed, then shook his head and walked over to the couch.  
  
  
  
In his daytime hideout, Bonesteel paced about his room. He stopped and stared at the cage that Ashton was in just the night before, then he continued pacing some more.  
  
"Those stupid Turtles. I was set for LIFE with that kid!" exclaimed Bonesteel.  
  
He then looked out of the window, and saw Central Park down the street. He thought for a moment, then grinned. "Those freaks always go to that park sometime during the week, and that kid has gotta be with them." Bonesteel walked over to a wall where he kept all of his arsenal and picked up a vial of tranquilizer fluid. "I'll have that kid back in her cage soon enough." he said while looking at the vial with an evil grin. 


	4. Bonding

It was a good while after Ashton had her emotional outburst. She was still sitting atop the subway car, still hanging her head down, but not repeating her phrase anymore.  
  
Ashton lifted her head and looked around, everyone seemed preoccupied. Mikey was sleeping on the couch, she could hear Leo and Raph fighting in another room, Venus was meditating, and Donatello was on his computer. Ashton didn't feel like asking for the time; she'd find out on her own.  
  
  
  
A little while later, Splinter came out of his room from his nap, en route to the kitchen. He surveyed his surroundings as he often did to make sure that everything was all right, and noticed something or some_one_ missing; Ashton.  
  
Venus stopped meditating, sensing Splinter's presence, and his worry. She opened her eyes, and noticed his quizzical expression.  
  
"Master, what is wrong?" asked Venus.  
  
"Ashton is missing." he said.  
  
"Oh my." said Venus.  
  
Raph and Leo's fighting had gotten louder and more brutal.  
  
Splinter looked over towards the other room, and went in there.  
  
Venus followed him.  
  
"You're goin' down!" grunted Leo as he wrestled Raph.  
  
"You've been sayin' that crap for the past 15 minutes! *You're the one goin' down!" said Raph.  
  
"Boys!" shouted Splinter as he saw the two fighting.  
  
Raph and Leo quickly froze as they turned to Splinter.  
  
"Why can't you two get along, just for once?" asked Splinter in frustration.  
  
"He started it!" Raph and Leo said together as they pointed to each other.  
  
Splinter just shook his head and sighed. "Where is Ashton?"  
  
"She's on top of the train car just like earlier." said Leo.  
  
"Not anymore." said Venus.  
  
"Oh come on, she's gotta be there. I didn't see her leave." said Leo as he exited the room.  
  
Raph, Venus, and Splinter also came out of the room.  
  
Leo looked on top of the car.  
  
"You were saying." said Venus as she folded her arms.  
  
"Where could she go? She don't know nothin' 'bout New York." said Raph.  
  
"I agree, she could be in danger, especially if it is not dark yet." said Splinter. "What time is it?"  
  
  
  
Out in the sewer tunnels, Ashton trudged through the muck and mire.  
  
"Filth. That's all this place is, pure filth." she muttered.  
  
She soon found a grate that gave her a view of how it looked above ground. The sky was getting dark, so she walked on to find and exit from the filthy sewers.  
  
  
  
In the lair, Splinter had Donny track Ashton with his "eye in the sky" program.  
  
"Her body temperature could be anywhere from 98.6 to 101.8 degrees. I don't even know how much she weighs, or how tall she is . . ." said Donny as he clicked away at his computer.  
  
"Do the best you can." said Splinter.  
  
Donny did some more clicking around, and finally got Ashton up, displayed as a brown blip.  
  
"Bingo." he said, grinning.  
  
"Where is she?" asked Venus.  
  
Donny looked carefully at the screen. "The manhole right in front of Central Park."  
  
Raph turned away and began leaving the lair.  
  
"Where are you going?" asked Splinter.  
  
"To get the kid." replied Raph.  
  
"Maybe I should go instead, you know, to apologize for making her mad earlier." said Donny.  
  
"Listen Don, no offense bro, but I don't think she wants to see you right now." said Raph.  
  
Donny nodded in agreement; he'd just have to apologize when she got back.  
  
"Be careful." said Splinter.  
  
"I will." said Raph as he grabbed his sai on his way out of the lair.  
  
Raph made his way to the manhole in font of Central Park, and saw that the cover hadn't been put back on. He got out of the sewer, then put the manhole cover back in place, and looked around.  
  
"Now where would that kid go?" he asked himself. Then he looked straight ahead. "Central Park, duh. Cats dig trees." Raph then walked into the park, and began looking around.  
  
"Ashton." he called.  
  
No reply came. He heard nothing but the rustling of leaves in the cool breeze, and crickets.  
  
Raph sighed and continued on walking through, calling her name all the while.  
  
It was almost a full hour later, and still no sign of Ashton.  
  
Raph sighed deeply. "Where is that kid?"  
  
Just then, there was a rustling in the tree near him. Raph looked up into it, but saw nothing but pitch black.  
  
"Ashton?" he called.  
  
There was no response for a while. "What?" asked a voice, coming from that same tree.  
  
"There you are. I spent almost an hour out here lookin' for ya." said Raph.  
  
Ashton was quiet for a moment. "Why?" she finally asked.  
  
"Cos, the city at night is a dangerous place, I didn't want ya gettin' hurt or somethin. Besides, Splinter was worried too." replied Raph.  
  
Everything was quiet for a long while.  
  
Raph sat down, leaning against the tree trunk. "What are you doin' up there anyway?"  
  
"Thinking." said Ashton.  
  
"Hmm." said Raph. "Tell me somethin, what was that stuff you were mumblin' earlier?"  
  
"A phrase an Indian medicine man once called me." said Ashton.  
  
"Okay . . . "  
  
"It means 'black panther with tortured soul'." said Ashton.  
  
"He knew you or somethin?"  
  
"No, he could tell." She sighed deeply. "I wanna go home. I miss my forest."  
  
"That nice huh?" asked Raph.  
  
"Very nice. Trees taller than skyscraper buildings could ever hope to be. Rivers so cool to swim in, streams with clean, delicious water . . . its so peaceful . . . lonely, but peaceful."  
  
"Lonely? What, no friends back home at all?"  
  
"No. I don't get attached to any of the other panthers, we don't always get along." said Ashton.  
  
"Ever fought one?" asked Raph.  
  
"One? Try many. About 6 I'd say. I also fought a few leopards, and a couple of snakes that thought of me as a snack."  
  
"And you won?" asked Raph.  
  
"Of course. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here would I?"  
  
Raph chuckled. "True. You're a tough chick to beat them animals."  
  
"Mmhm. That's why it bugs me that I got caught by that stupid hunter."  
  
"Bonesteel is tougher than he seems, he's gotten us a couple of times too." said Raph.  
  
The leaves in the tree rustled a bit, and Raph looked up.  
  
Ashton moved to a long, thick branch in plain view of Raphael.  
  
Raph looked up as Ashton stretched across the branch. He looked at her eyes for a moment, they had a slight glow to them like all cats' eyes do in the dark. He didn't think anything of it, and just looked back towards the ground, idly pulling up pieces of grass.  
  
"You goin' back to Brazil?" asked Raph.  
  
"I want to, but I don't know how." said Ashton.  
  
"Steal away." said a familiar voice.  
  
Raph and Ashton turned to the side and saw Mikey coming towards them.  
  
"Hey dude and dudette, what's up?" asked Mikey.  
  
"Nothin' much. What brings you out here?" asked Raph.  
  
"Aw nothin' much. Splinter wanted to make sure everything was okay, so Leo volunteered. To make a long story short, I came instead." said Mikey as he took a seat next to Raph.  
  
"What's this about stealing away?" Ashton asked.  
  
"Well, since you can't very well buy a plane ticket, you might as well stowaway in the cargo area of a plane." said Mikey.  
  
"I take it you've traveled like this before." said Ashton.  
  
"Well, yeah. I mean, when Donny's travel machine broke down on our way to Florida, I wasn't takin' no for an answer." said Mikey.  
  
Ashton giggled.  
  
"Hey, that's the first time we've seen ya smile." said Raph.  
  
"So you have a sense of humor." said Mikey. "This is good, very good." he said, impersonating a Mafia character as he rubbed his hands together.  
  
Ashton laughed. "I take it you're the jokester of the group."  
  
"You have no idea." said Raph.  
  
Mikey chuckled.  
  
  
  
Little beknownst to them, they were being watched from the shadows.  
  
"Steady, steady." said a voice.  
  
"Pffft." An object flew through the air and hit the branch Ashton was on so hard that the branch broke.  
  
Ashton shrieked as the branch broke under her and she fell on Raph and Mikey.  
  
"What happened?" asked Mikey.  
  
"I don't know. Something just hit the branch, and it broke." said Ashton as they all brushed themselves off, and stood up.  
  
They looked around.  
  
"I don't seen anyone around here." said Mikey.  
  
"Dang!" exclaimed the person in the bushes to himself.  
  
Ashton's ears perked up. "Someone else is here watching us."  
  
"How do you know?" asked Mikey.  
  
Ashton's ears twitched towards different directions. "I recognize this sound."  
  
Raph picked the object from the tree. "Yo yous two, check it out." he said while examining a dart.  
  
Ashton and Mikey looked back towards Raph.  
  
Another dart shot out, this time just missing Mikey, who quickly looked at the ground where a small tranquilizer dart laid. He picked it up.  
  
"Another dart?" asked Raph as he walked over.  
  
"Somethin' tells me we better scram." said Mikey.  
  
"You're not goin' anywhere, freaks!" said Bonesteel as he came out of the bushes clutching his large tranquilizer gun.  
  
Ashton glared and hissed at him.  
  
"You're not getting away from me that easy missy!" said Bonesteel.  
  
Ashton glared at him, growling lowly as her nails extended.  
  
Bonesteel prepared another dart for shooting.  
  
"Not today." said Ashton as she got ready to attack him.  
  
"That's right, not today, let's go." said Mikey, grabbing Ashton by the arm.  
  
"Wha . . ."  
  
"Just run!" said Mikey.  
  
Raph pushed her along as he and Mikey ran to the nearest manhole, barely escaping Bonsteel's darts.  
  
"Get back here!!!" shouted Bonesteel.  
  
In the sewer, they all stopped and looked out of a grate as they listened to Bonesteel's frustrated hollers.  
  
"Heh heh, beat ole Bonehead again." chuckled Raph.  
  
"Why did you push me away? I almost had him!" said Ashton.  
  
"Listen kid, one thing you gotta learn, is even the best of warriors fall prey to a tranquilizer dart. Its best to just scram." said Raph.  
  
"Yeah, besides, I'm too hungry to fight." said Mikey. "Let's go home and eat." He said as he began walking towards the lair.  
  
"You're always hungry." said Raph, following.  
  
Ashton just sighed deeply.  
  
Raph stopped and turned around. "You okay?"  
  
Ashton nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."  
  
"Come on then." said Raph.  
  
Ashton then followed him and Mikey back to the lair.  
  
  
  
Inside the lair smelled different than when they had left.  
  
"Ah, Venus is cooking." said Mikey as he walked towards the kitchen.  
  
Ashton held her nose. "You call *that* cooking? The sewers out there smell better than this!"  
  
"Hey, don't let Venus hear you say that. Believe me, you don't wanna see 'er when she gets mad." said Raph.  
  
"Ashton, you are back safely. I'm glad." said Splinter as he came over to her.  
  
Ashton smiled. "Thanks."  
  
"Donatello has something he would like to tell you." said Splinter. Then he stepped to the side to reveal Donny standing there.  
  
"Hey, um, sorry for getting you mad like that earlier. I see now that you don't want to be watched like that, so . . . "  
  
Ashton stopped him. "Apology accepted. I'm sorry that I got so angry too, I just never learned how to control my temper I suppose."  
  
"Heh, neither has Raph." said Donny.  
  
Raph ignored Donny as he sat at the table.  
  
"So what are we eating?" asked Ashton.  
  
"Whatever Venus cooked." said Splinter as he walked over to the kitchen.  
  
"And that sometimes, is very hard to decipher." said Donny.  
  
Ashton giggled as she and Donny walked over to the table.  
  
  
  
Hey everyone, I need reviews! Please let me know how you think this story is. Yeah, flames too, as long as they're not too hot. I enjoy writing this, just tell me if you enjoy reading it, thanks! 


	5. Nightmare

Ashton had been staying with the Turtles for almost a week, and she slowly began to accept her 'filthy' surroundings, as well as get used to being around other intelligent beings.  
  
Late one night, throughout the lair resounded a loud scream, and a loud, multiple-toned meow.  
  
The Turtles and Splinter were startled out of a peaceful rest.  
  
"What the heck is the matter with that kid?" asked Leo as he got out of bed.  
  
The Turtles and Splinter went to Ashton's bed, which was the couch in the living room.  
  
There, they saw her sweating profusely, thrashing about as if she were in a hard struggle. Her nails were out, and she appeared to be wavering between anger and extreme paranoia.  
  
Donatello looked amazed.  
  
"What's the matter with her?" asked Mikey in shock, disturbed at how she was acting.  
  
"I don't know." said Donny.  
  
"She is having a nightmare." said Venus.  
  
"An extreme one." said Raph.  
  
Leo was about to step forth and wake her up, when Splinter stopped him.  
  
"No, she is in a very volatile state right now, we must not touch her." said Splinter.  
  
"What are we gonna do then?" asked Mikey.  
  
Splinter thought for a moment. "I have an idea."  
  
A little while later, Ashton was still thrashing around, but not as violently.  
  
Leo and Raph had rubber gloves on, and were holding a quilt, each standing at one side of her so that the cover was over her.  
  
Splinter was standing at her head, and Donatello kneeled near her feet.  
  
"At the count of three." said Venus, who was standing near Leo. "One, two . . . three!"  
  
Leo and Raph brought the cover down quickly and held it tightly over Ashton, as Donatello grabbed a hold of her ankles, and held them tightly, and Splinter put one hand on each side of her head, and began chanting something.  
  
Ashton got more excitable for a moment, then slowly calmed down, but was still breathing hard. She soon awoke, and looked around, her pupils shrinking and expanding at an alarming rate. She struggled to sit up as she noticed everyone holding her down.  
  
"Let her go." said Splinter. He then stood up.  
  
Everyone else let go, and also stood up.  
  
Ashton jumped up from her spot on the couch, and ran to the wall near the kitchen and crouched in a corner, looking terrified.  
  
"What happened?" asked Venus.  
  
Ashton didn't respond right away, she just looked at everyone, feeling dizzy and scared.  
  
Splinter approached her.  
  
"Be careful Master." said Leo.  
  
"I am." said Splinter. He then handed Ashton a small towel. "You are perspiring a lot."  
  
Ashton looked at him for a moment, then took the towel. "Thank you." she murmured, almost incoherently. She quickly wiped her face from the sweat, then gripped the towel.  
  
"Come, sit at the table." said Splinter, offering Ashton a hand.  
  
Ashton took his hand as he helped her up, and they both sat at the table.  
  
The Turtles came over, and sat down too.  
  
"Are you all right?" asked Venus.  
  
"I don't know." said Ashton. "I don't have nightmares like that often; only when something's going to happen." she said shakily.  
  
"Like what?" asked Mikey.  
  
"The scientists." A dark green camouflage suit flashed into her mind and she shut her eyes tightly. "They kept coming for me in my room, for the tests. No more tests, no more tests, no more tests."  
  
"You had a nightmare like this before every test?" asked Donny.  
  
Ashton shook her head. "No, for the first test, for the beginning of the series. Then I ran, I had to run, I attacked, and I ran, I had to. The second nightmare came before they found my first home." She held her head in her hands as if she had a headache.  
  
"Would you like some water Ashton?" asked Venus.  
  
Ashton nodded.  
  
Venus got up and got her some water. "Here you are."  
  
Ashton took it. "Thank you." She immediately gulped the whole thing down, then took a deep breath. "I'll be okay."  
  
"Are you sure?" asked Raph.  
  
"In my life, there's never a such thing, as 'sure', only 'for now'." said Ashton.  
  
"Seems like that's the truth for all of us." said Raph.  
  
Ashton nodded slightly.  
  
"All right everyone, get to bed now, Ashton will be fine." said Splinter.  
  
"Sure Master." said Mikey. "Night Ashton."  
  
"Night Mikey. Night all." said Ashton.  
  
"Night." said the others, then they walked off to bed.  
  
Splinter watched them leave, then turned to Ashton. "Would you like some more water?"  
  
Ashton looked at her glass. "No thank you, I'll be all right."  
  
Splinter studied her for a moment.  
  
Ashton looked over at him. "What?"  
  
"Oh nothing. It is just that, I can tell that you are hiding something. What is it that you see in your nightmares?" asked Splinter.  
  
Ashton looked down. "I rather not mention it, you wouldn't understand. Such visions are unique to who I am; what I am." she said.  
  
"I see. Its okay, we are all allowed our secrets." said Splinter.  
  
Ashton nodded, then sighed. "I gotta say, this is the first time I woke up from one of the nightmares without killing something in my sleep; no one to intervene and help me at home I guess."  
  
"Home, you wish to be there, don't you?" asked Splinter.  
  
Ashton sighed. "Yeah, well, sometimes. Its pretty and all, but lonely." She was quiet for a long while.  
  
"Ashton?"  
  
"Splinter if I, well, if I decided to stay here. . . would that be ok?"  
  
Splinter smiled. "Of course, my child. You're welcome to call this your home, anytime."  
  
Ashton gave a small smile. "Thanks, for everything Splinter."  
  
"Anytime Ashton." said Splinter.  
  
"Well, I better get back to sleep now, my nightmare left me kinda tired."  
  
"Okay, goodnight." said Splinter.  
  
"Good night." Ashton then went over to the couch and lied down.  
  
Splinter watched her as she fell back asleep. Then he got up from the kitchen table, and put a blanket over her before going to his room. 


	6. Trouble

The next morning, Ashton awoke to the sounds of Leo and Raph arguing near the doorway. She sat up and looked over at them.  
  
"Fine! But you know your reckless behavior is gonna get you killed someday!" said Leo.  
  
"Wrong! My behavior is gonna get you killed someday!" said Raph.  
  
"Oh yeah? Is that a challenge?!" asked Leo.  
  
"No, its just a warning for you to stay out of my way!" said Raph. Then he walked towards the exit of the lair.  
  
"You get back here Raph!" shouted Leo.  
  
"Make me!" shouted Raph. He knew Leo couldn't, and continued to walk off to the exit.  
  
Ashton then heard a sigh near her, and looked up to see Venus standing there, watching as Leo stormed off to his room.  
  
"Do they always do that?" asked Ashton.  
  
"You have no idea." said Venus.  
  
  
  
Later on, sirens went off in the lair. Splinter was out playing chess at Andre's apartment, so he didn't have to deal with the noise.  
  
Ashton was startled, and looked around in wide-eyed shock.  
  
"Don't worry kiddo, its only our alarm system." said Mikey as he and the others began walking over to Donny's computer.  
  
"People actually try to come down here?" asked Ashton.  
  
"No, not really. It lets us know when our enemies are on the move." said Donny. "Come check it out."  
  
Ashton went over to the computer where everyone else was standing.  
  
"Who's starting trouble this time?" asked Leo.  
  
"Hm, seems like Raph is catching himself a little action at the dragon fortress." said Donny.  
  
"That moron!" exclaimed Leo. "I told him that he'd get himself in trouble!"  
  
"What a minute, what's this stuff about dragons? Those kind of things actually exist?" asked Ashton.  
  
"Yep. But these aren't your fairy tale dragons kiddo, these things are tough, and no prince charming in his fancy underwear can kill them." said Mikey as he grabbed his weapons from the weapons rack.  
  
The others grabbed their weapons from the rack.  
  
"You better stay here." said Leo. "For your safety."  
  
"No way, I wanna see these things. Besides, Raph's in trouble, I have to help."" said Ashton.  
  
"Its too dangerous. You have never dealt with dragons before." said Venus.  
  
"Oh come on, I can handle myself."  
  
"Ashton . . . "  
  
"Come on Leo, let her go. Raph's just as much her friend as he is our brother, he saved her life, all she wants to do is help save his." said Mikey.  
  
Leo sighed. "Fine, let's go." he said as he began to climb out of the lair.  
  
The others followed too. 


	7. Meeting dragons

The Turtles and Ashton soon arrived at the dragon fortress in the Hummer.  
  
Leo parked it in the shadows, and they all got out, and went to the back door.  
  
"Now Ashton, you've gotta be very, very stealthy. You don't wanna be caught by these guys." said Leo.  
  
Ashton smirked. "Stealth is a feline's best quality."  
  
"Good." Leo nodded. Then he looked around, and carefully opened the back door, and they all went inside.  
  
Inside, they looked around, being careful to avoid being seen or heard. They hid behind some crates.  
  
"Okay, if we hope to find Raph, we're gonna have to split up." said Leo.  
  
"Good idea." said Venus.  
  
"Mikey, Donny, you two go that way, Venus and I will go the opposite direction." said Leo.  
  
"Forgetting someone?" asked Ashton.  
  
"Oh yeah, right. Um, you go with Donny and Mikey." said Leo.  
  
Ashton nodded.  
  
"We'll meet back at the Hummer once we've found Raph. Now let's go." said Leo.  
  
Everyone then stood up.  
  
Leo and Venus went towards a corridor, while Ashton, Mikey, and Donny went towards a staircase.  
  
They climbed up the staircase, and carefully peeked around the corners before proceeding into the hallway.  
  
"Any sign of Raph?" whispered Donny.  
  
"Nah dude." said Mikey.  
  
Ashton's ears twitched in different directions. "Hey, I think I hear him." she said.  
  
"You do? Where?" asked Donny.  
  
Ashton looked around as her ears continued twitching. "Further down this hallway."  
  
They all continued down the hallway, Ashton in the lead.  
  
Downstairs, Leo and Venus were checking out different rooms.  
  
"It seems pretty vacant down here." said Leo.  
  
"True, but you can never be too sure." said Venus.  
  
They continued down the corridor, listening closely near doors before opening them.  
  
Leo leaned in closely to one door. "It sounds empty." he said.  
  
Venus turned around and concentrated on the door as Leo began opening it. "No no no Leo, don't open that . . . "  
  
Leo opened the door, and saw about 7 dragons inside.  
  
". . .door." said Venus.  
  
The dragons all looked towards the entrance, some of them drawing their swords.  
  
Leo gulped. "Uh oh."  
  
  
  
Upstairs, Ashton, Mikey, and Donny came to the end of the hallway, and looked into a room.  
  
There, Raph was engaged in a fight with two dragons who were trying to tie him up.  
  
"Give up Turtle! It's no use!" said one dragon.  
  
"You will be Dragon Lord's dinner whether you like it or not!" said the other.  
  
"No way man, I ain't bein' that leatherhead's dinner if I can help it!" exclaimed Raph as he tried to fight them off.  
  
Ashton, Mikey, and Donny walked into the room, and closed the door.  
  
The dragons turned around upon hearing the door close.  
  
"Man, these things sure are ugly." said Ashton.  
  
"Hey guys, when did you all get here?" asked Raph.  
  
"Just in time." said Donny, taking out his Bo staff.  
  
Mikey took out his nanchuks.  
  
Ashton's nails extended.  
  
The dragons took out their swords. "Attack!" they said, charging at Don, Mikey, and Ashton.  
  
Mikey nailed one of them in the face with his nanchuks.  
  
The dragon staggered backwards for a moment, then swung at Mikey's head with his sword.  
  
Mikey ducked his head into his shell for a moment, then came back up and tangled his nanchuks with the dragon's sword, tossing it across the room.  
  
The dragon, now without weapon, was about to throw a punch, when he was jumped at from behind.  
  
Ashton sprang at him, hissing, with nails out, and slashed at his neck, making him bleed.  
  
Donny and the other dragon were involved in a Bo staff/sword fight, with neither of them seemingly winning.  
  
Raph took out his sai and ran at the dragon, knocking it in the back of the head.  
  
The dragon turned around to face Raph, and was immediately knocked in the back of the head with Don's Bo staff, causing the dragon to fall unconscious.  
  
The dragon Ashton slashed lied on the ground, slowly bleeding to death.  
  
Ashton retracted her claws, just as the others came over to her.  
  
"What did you do to him?" asked Don.  
  
"I slashed his jugular; the best way to take your enemy down." said Ashton.  
  
Raph then opened the door, and looked around. "Coast is clear, let's go."  
  
They all came out of the room, and began walking down the hallway.  
  
Just then, Leo and Venus came running at them.  
  
"What's the hurry?" asked Mikey.  
  
Venus quickly pointed behind them as a small army of dragons with their swords out ran after them.  
  
"Whoa." said Ashton.  
  
"Come on, this way." said Leo, running down a different hallway.  
  
They all ran down the hallway, as fast as they could.  
  
As they ran, Ashton looked behind them for a moment, and as she turned her head to look back towards where she was running, she saw into a white room they were passing. Everything became slow motion as she slowed down and saw a person with white hair in there, her heart nearly stopped as he turned around to reveal his peculiar face.  
  
"Why are you stopping Ashton? Run!" said Leo as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her along.  
  
Ashton suddenly snapped back to reality, and continued running.  
  
Dr. Quease peered down the hallway at all the commotion, then turned and went back to whatever he was doing.  
  
They all ran out to the Hummer, quickly jumped in, and sped back home. 


	8. Discovering the past

Back in the sewers, they entered the lair and saw Splinter sitting on the couch in the living room.  
  
"Where have you been?" he asked. "I return from Andre's house, and you all are gone, without even so much as a note."  
  
"Sorry Master, but we were out saving Raph's shell." said Leo, looking accusively over at Raph.  
  
Raph sneered at him.  
  
Mikey quickly went to the kitchen muttering, "Food food food."  
  
"Where was he?" asked Splinter.  
  
"The dragon fortress." said Venus.  
  
Splinter looked at Raph with a stern expression. "We must talk."  
  
Raph looked down, he knew he had a royal scolding coming his way.  
  
"By the way, where is Ashton?" asked Splinter as he glanced around.  
  
"Hey yeah, where *is* she?" asked Donny.  
  
  
  
Back at the dragon fortress, Ashton crept out of a closet. She listened carefully around her as her ears turned every which way. She carefully made her way to the white room that intrigued her so much earlier.  
  
She went inside, and saw that no one was in there. Ashton looked at all of the equipment and gadgets, and couldn't help but shudder. She looked at one very familiar machine.  
  
("Now just look at the screen, it won't hurt you." says a man. A bright light flashes, and a little girl screams.) Ashton shakes her head, trying to push the memory away.  
  
Ashton looked around some more and noticed a file cabinet. She went over to it and tried to open it, but it was locked. Extending one of her nails, she pried the lock open. After retracting her nail, she opened the little door, and saw three drawers of files, and began rummaging through them.  
  
She flicked over many files some labeled "mutagens", others labeled "equipment".  
  
One file in the back of the last drawer caught her eye. It was labeled, "Hybrid Theory". She opened it and began reading a particular page.  
  
"Hybrids: Mixtures or crossbreeds. DNA of a human to be mixed with that of an animal. Experiments conducted by Doctor Cornelius Quease in the Chuquicamata Laboratory. See "Chuquicamata, Chile Experiments".  
  
"Quease." Ashton growled as she looked at his name. She remembered him all too well; his white hair, his pale, purplish complexion . . .  
  
Ashton shook her head, trying to forget his face. She put the file back, then searched through the drawer until she found the file labeled, "Chuquicamata, Chile Experiments." She sat down on the floor and opened the folder. She read the first paper.  
  
"The following are the subjects, experiments, and reports done at the Chuquicamata Laboratory in Chuquicamata, Chile."  
  
Ashton then found a picture of a man standing in front of a white background.  
  
"Subject #1, Mr. Nelson Lenille. 30 years old. Perfect health. Found in Iquique, Chile." read the caption below his picture.  
  
Ashton then saw a picture of a woman on the next page. "Subject #2, Mrs. Corra Lenille. 27 years old. Perfect health. May be pregnant. Found in Iquique, Chile." read the caption below her picture.  
  
Ashton looked at the picture of the woman for a moment, she could recognize the familiar face and complexion; it was her mother. She fought back tears as she gently laid the picture down next to her; she planned to take it with her when she left. Ashton then looked back at the picture of Subject #1.  
  
"So, he's my dad." she thought. She gently touched the picture. "I'm sorry I never knew you." she said softly. Ashton then put down his picture, and continued onto the next pictures, all of subjects, ages ranging from 20-40, all taken into the lab for the hybrid experiments. She saw pictures of the results of some of the experiments. She tossed aside these disturbing images, and went on to the next paper.  
  
There, she found an envelope which contained a report, and another picture.  
  
"Subject #2, which survived the panther DNA injections, was tested, and it is now confirmed that she is about 2 months pregnant. Her pregnancy is being monitored carefully. Dr. Cornelius Quease has put her under special observation. The unborn offspring's growth and progress will be carefully monitored. The mother will also be carefully monitored."  
  
Ashton put down the report and looked at the picture. There was a woman in the picture with yellow/brown eyes, just sitting on a bed in a white room. Ashton gave way to tears. "Momma." she muttered; she missed her mother so much. She stared at the picture for a while, then put it down, next to the picture of her mother when she was healthy.  
  
After wiping away the tears that had begun to fall, Ashton flipped through some papers in the file, all about different observances during the pregnancy. She soon found some pictures of her as a baby. Some with Quease, but the more recent ones were without him.  
  
Just then, Dr. Quease entered the room.  
  
Ashton quickly stood up, letting all of the papers fall from her lap. She looked towards them for a moment.  
  
"Who are . . ." Dr. Quease stopped as Ashton looked up and he saw her yellow eyes. "Oh my."  
  
Ashton looked at him, and immediately recognized him.  
  
("Hello little girl. My, you are an odd-looking little thing." said Dr. Quease as he saw 4-year-old Ashton sitting and crying in a lonely room.)  
  
"You." Ashton said in a low, angry voice as she glared at him with hate in her eyes. 


	9. Rescue

Quease stepped back a little as Ashton hissed at him.  
  
"My gosh, what are you?" he asked.  
  
"What? You don't remember Chile? The little hybrid girl that got away? Just one of the people whose life you've messed up forever?" Ashton asked bitterly.  
  
Dr. Quease looked at Ashton for a moment, then at the papers on the floor. "The Chuquicamata experiments." he said, then looked back at Ashton. "The first offspring." he said.  
  
"Yeah, the firstborn freak. Look at what your experiments did to me!" shouted an enraged Ashton. "I can't live with people, other animals try to attack me because they don't understand me, I have no family . . ." Tears began to fall from her face, but she quickly wiped them away.  
  
"You survived. Everyone thought you died, but you didn't." said Dr. Quease. "Fascinating."  
  
"Yeah, for you! Not for me! I hate being this way!" shouted Ashton as she knocked down some glass beakers from a table.  
  
Quease jumped, startled by Ashton's intense temper. He then saw a couple of dragons passing by. "Hey, you two. Get in here and close the door." he said.  
  
The two dragons looked over and came in. They then noticed Ashton, and closed the door quickly.  
  
Ashton's eyes narrowed and she growled as she looked at the dragons.  
  
"Get her, I want her restrained immediately." ordered Quease.  
  
"Oh no, I'm not gonna be your guinea pig ever again!" said Ashton as her nails extended.  
  
  
  
Back at the Turtle lair, Donatello clicked away at his computer.  
  
"She's still at the dragon fortress!" he said in surprise.  
  
"What?! Why the heck is she there?" asked Mikey with his mouth full of chips.  
  
"Beats me." said Donny.  
  
Leo looked thoughtful. "Ya know, at one point she stopped running and was just looking into this room. I had to pull her so we could keep running." he said.  
  
"Was it Dr. Quease's lab?" asked Donny.  
  
"I don't know, why?" asked Leo.  
  
"Because that's where she is." said Donny, pointing to the screen. He had a map of the dragon fortress up, and spotted the brown blip that he assigned Ashton. "Her blip is really moving, I think she's fighting."  
  
"She is in trouble then, we must get her." said Venus.  
  
"Ah man, we just left that place." complained Leo.  
  
"But we gotta go get 'er." said Raph.  
  
"I agree, she is in great danger. Go get her, immediately." said Splinter.  
  
"You heard the Master, we're gonna kick some more dragon butt." said Raph as they all began leaving.  
  
"Raphael?" said Splinter.  
  
Raph stopped walking off with the others and turned to Splinter. "Yes Master?"  
  
"You are getting away this time, but we will have our talk. Understand?" asked Splinter.  
  
Raph sighed. "Yes Master." he mumbled.  
  
"I can't hear you." said Splinter.  
  
"Yes Master." said Raph, louder this time.  
  
"Good. Now go, save Ashton." said Splinter.  
  
Raph then turned around, climbed the ladder, and left the lair.  
  
  
  
At the dragon fortress, Ashton had successfully taken down the two dragons, who were both beaten and bleeding. She breathed heavily from her battle, then turned to Quease with the anger still present in her eyes.  
  
Dr. Quease stepped back towards the wall as Ashton came closer and closer to him. "Now now, don't do anything that you'll regret." he said.  
  
"Oh don't worry, I won't." Ashton said, glaring at him.  
  
Dr. Quease began sweating from fear. He then noticed a vial of green liquid near him and picked it up. He threw it at Ashton, and it fell onto her left hand.  
  
"Ow!!" yelled Ashton as the liquid sizzled on her hand. She held it tightly and looked very pained. She then glared over at Dr. Quease. "You're gonna be sorry you did that."  
  
Dr. Quease backed up against the wall.  
  
Ashton let go of her pained hand, and shook it a bit to return the feeling. She came closer to Dr. Quease, and after stopping just a few feet in front of him, sprang at him to attack.  
  
Just before she reached him, she was pulled back by somebody from behind. Ashton pushed the person away, and spun around. There she saw it was Leonardo.  
  
"What are you doing?!" she hissed. "I almost had him!"  
  
"Listen, I don't know why you're trying to kill Quease, but that's wrong." said Leo.  
  
"But you don't understand! He's to blame for how I am! He's the scientist that destroyed my life before I was even born!" exclaimed Ashton, wavering between anger and deep sadness.  
  
The Turtles looked surprised.  
  
"Whoa, heh, I'd kill 'im too." said Raph.  
  
"Raph, you're not helping." said Leo turning to Raph. Then he turned back to Ashton. "Come on, we're leaving."  
  
"No! Not until I'm done with this jerk!" she exclaimed, then she turned around to get at Quease. But when she turned around, he was gone, and the door to the lab was partially open.  
  
"He's gone! You distracted me and let him get away! I have to find him." said Ashton as she proceeded to the door.  
  
Leo grabbed her. "No, we're going back to the lair."  
  
Ashton struggled harshly. "No!"  
  
"Some help here!" said Leo.  
  
Mikey, Raph, and Venus came over and helped Leo restrain Ashton, who struggled vigorously. They then went over to the vent that they got in from.  
  
"Come on Donny, let's go!" said Leo.  
  
"Sure sure, I'm coming." said Donny. He then stopped looking at the equipment in the room, and was about to leave when he noticed a pile of papers, pictures, and a folder on the floor. "Hm." he said. Donny then read the title of the folder. "Chuquicamata, Chile?" he asked himself. He thought for a moment, and decided to take the papers with him. He began stuffing them and the pictures into the folder. He then heard dragons coming, picked up the rest of the loose papers and pictures, and left the lab through the vent. 


	10. Letting off steam

Outside, Leo, Raph, Mikey and Venus let go of Ashton a good while's away from the dragon fortress.  
  
"Why didn't you just let me get him?! He was right there!" exclaimed Ashton.  
  
"I'm sorry, but killing is wrong. We couldn't just let you do that." said Leo.  
  
Ashton looked distressed. She pushed her long black hair away from her face, and stood there for a moment. Then she looked off into the distance.  
  
"I have to take a walk." she said as she began walking off.  
  
"Oh no you don't, you're coming back home with us." said Leo as he pulled her back.  
  
Ashton forcefully pushed him away. "I have to be alone! I have to take a walk!" she said.  
  
Leo pulled her back again. "I know you're gonna try and go back to Dr. Quease. Just let him be and come back with us." he said.  
  
Ashton pushed him away again.  
  
Just as Leo was about to go get her, Venus put a hand on his arm. "Let her go." she said.  
  
"But she's going after Dr. Quease again." said Leo.  
  
"No, she's not.  
  
"How do you know?" asked Leo.  
  
"I can read minds remember. Let her, she needs to be alone. Come, let us go home." said Venus as she turned towards home.  
  
Leo looked towards the direction where Ashton was walking. He sighed, then turned around.  
  
"Hey guys, wait up!" said Donny as he ran to them.  
  
"Where have you been dude?" asked Mikey.  
  
"Just grabbing something before I left." replied Donny. "Where's Ashton?"  
  
"Taking a walk. She needs some time by herself, poor kid." said Mikey.  
  
Donny looked down at the papers he had. "Come on, I'm dying to know what's in these papers I got."  
  
He and Mikey then followed Leo, Venus, and Raph back to the lair.  
  
Ashton walked down the street, haunted by memories of her past. She saw nothing but flashbacks in her mind.  
  
("What an odd-looking little girl you are.")  
  
Ashton held her head, she couldn't stand remembering Dr. Quease's face. She walked down the desolate streets of this part of town, trying to keep her sanity.  
  
  
  
Crawling in my skin  
  
These wounds they will not heal  
  
Fear is how I fall  
  
Confusing what is real  
  
There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface  
  
Consuming  
  
Confusing  
  
This lack of self-control I fear is never-ending  
  
(Ashton ripped down posters and kicked down garbage cans as she rampaged down the desolate sidestreets.)  
  
Controlling  
  
I can't seem  
  
To find myself again  
  
My walls are closing in  
  
[Without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take]  
  
I've felt this way before  
  
So insecure  
  
(Ashton tries to block out the flashbacks; the scientists, the laboratory, the other subjects screaming . . . Dr. Quease)  
  
Crawling in my skin  
  
These wounds they will not heal  
  
Fear is how I fall  
  
Confusing what is real  
  
Discomfort endlessly has pulled itself upon me  
  
Distracting  
  
Reacting  
  
(Ashton begins to cry as she remembers her mother. Her mother never seemed to stop sweating or looking sickly. She still remembered being in her mom's embrace as her mom told her to run away. It starts to rain.)  
  
Against my will I stand beside my own reflection  
  
(She sees her reflection in a mud puddle.)  
  
It's haunting  
  
(A few tears drop into it, and she roughly steps on the puddle, angry about how she is; what she is.)  
  
How I can't seem  
  
To find myself again  
  
My walls are closing in  
  
[Without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take]  
  
I've felt this way before  
  
So insecure  
  
Crawling in my skin  
  
These wounds they will not heal  
  
Fear is how I fall  
  
Confusing what is real  
  
(Ashton runs throughout the streets, getting soaking wet from the rain. Crying and feeling hopeless and alone.)  
  
Crawling in my skin  
  
These wounds they will not heal  
  
Fear is how I fall  
  
Confusing, confusing what is real  
  
(Ashton cries as she sits in an alleyway for a long time.)  
  
[There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface, consuming]  
  
Confusing what is real  
  
(All of a sudden, she feels a blanket wrapped around her, and looks up to see Splinter. She finds comfort in him being there.)  
  
[This lack of self-control I fear is never ending, controlling]  
  
Confusing what is real  
  
(Splinter urges Ashton to get up, and they both walk back to the lair in the rain.)  
  
  
  
"Crawling" is copyright to the group, Linkin Park. 


	11. The story continues . . .

Back at the Turtle lair, Donny was wearing a pair of glasses that he fashioned for himself, while looking through the pictures and papers he found at Quease's lab.  
  
"Absolutely amazing." he said to himself as he finished reading a page.  
  
"What?" asked Leo as he walked by Donny, coming from his room.  
  
"The things I've read in these papers, the pictures I've seen . . . " he then looked up at Leo. "These are what you call true science crimes. These things should *never* have been done."  
  
"Obviously, look how Ashton is taking it." said Venus as she put a pot under a new leak in the lair.  
  
Leo emptied a full pan of water in the sink. "I might regret asking, but what did they do?"  
  
"They took innocent people, living their daily lives. They just pulled them off the street, against their will, and took them captive as their personal guinea pigs, just like that." said Donny, appalled at what he learned. He took off his glasses and sat back in his computer chair.  
  
"Man, that's wrong." said Leo, putting the pan under the leak again.  
  
Just then, Ashton and Splinter entered the lair. They were both very wet from the rain.  
  
"Hey, she's back." said Leo.  
  
"How are you feeling Ashton?" asked Venus.  
  
Ashton sighed with a quiver, and sniffled. "I'll be okay." she nodded. She then sat on the couch with the blanket still wrapped around her.  
  
"I will be back. I need to dry off." said Splinter, and he turned and went to his room.  
  
Mikey came out of his room yawning and stretching. "Man, I sure needed that nap." he said, then noticed Ashton. "Hey, you're back!"  
  
Ashton gave a small smile, she then looked over towards Donny, who was looking at pictures. "What are you looking at?"  
  
Donny glanced over at her. "Pictures I found on the floor of Quease's lab; awful pictures." he said, shaking his head in disgust.  
  
Ashton looked over at him for a moment, then got up and walked over to him.  
  
Donny looked up as Ashton came over.  
  
She kneeled on the floor next to Donny's chair, and picked up a picture from the floor. "She was my mother." she said, trying not to cry again.  
  
Donny looked at her picture, and how healthy she looked, compared to the other pictures he had seen of her. "She looks like she was a nice person."  
  
"She was." said Ashton, tears falling from her eyes again.  
  
"Hey, its okay kiddo, we're here for ya." said Mikey, putting a reassuring arm around Ashton.  
  
"Thanks." she smiled. Then she sighed, and looked around. "Where's Raph?"  
  
Leo began snickering.  
  
"Well, because of how he ran off to the dragon fortress in the first place, he's gotta clean the hummer, lock up his motorcycle for a month, and do all the clean-ups for the next month." said Donny.  
  
"Yeah, Splinter really didn't like what he did. I feel sorry for him doin' all those chores ya know." said Mikey.  
  
"I don't." chuckled Leo.  
  
"That is not nice. Even if Raphael does deserve it . . ." said Venus.  
  
Ashton giggled. "You guys are funny."  
  
"Yay! You're giggling again already. I knew you'd be okay." said Mikey.  
  
Ashton smiled.  
  
"Come, let's get you dried off before dinner." said Venus.  
  
Ashton stood up, then she and Venus walked off to Venus' room.  
  
Raph soon came back into the lair with a very displeased look frozen on his face.  
  
"Hey Raph, is that hummer shining now?" teased Leo.  
  
"Shutup." said Raph.  
  
"Where are you going?" asked Leo.  
  
"To my room stupid, where else?" replied Raph.  
  
"No you are not." said Splinter.  
  
Raph froze in his tracks and turned around. "But I cleaned the hummer and locked up the cycle." he said, more meekly than he normally spoke.  
  
"There is a spill on the floor from a new leak, you must clean it. I want this place as clean as possible." said Splinter.  
  
Raph was about to say something when he knew it would be of no use to argue. He sighed deeply, turned around and went to cleaning.  
  
"That's it Raph, scrub scrub scrub." said Leo.  
  
Raph shot an angry glare at him. "Just wait man, you're gonna get yours."  
  
Leo just chuckled as he sat on the couch and turned on the television.  
  
"Leonardo." said Splinter.  
  
"Yes Master." said Leo, turning to Splinter.  
  
"The dishes are still *your* responsibility. I suggest that you get to them before dinner." said Splinter.  
  
"Oh man." groaned Leo.  
  
"Heh heh." chuckled Raph.  
  
  
  
Far off at a dock on the Lower East Side, Bonesteel impatiently tapped his foot on the ground. He looked at his watch, then started pacing.  
  
Soon, a boat began floating towards the dock.  
  
Bonesteel stopped pacing, and went over to the boat.  
  
A man got out of the boat, and secured it to the dock. Then he looked up at Bonesteel. "Hey Simon, I got what you wanted." he said.  
  
"Great, bring it here." said Bonesteel.  
  
The man went behind a large crate, and pushed a rolling cart underneath of it. He then lifted it, and rolled it onto the dock where Bonesteel was.  
  
Bonesteel marveled at the crate, and took a peek inside through a hole. "Perfect!" he smiled.  
  
"Yep, a real grade A cage. The strongest material out there, an impenetrable lock; a virtual bounty hunter's dream." said the man. "I'm surprised you didn't have one already."  
  
"Yeah well, I didn't think I'd ever need one like this." said Bonesteel.  
  
"What are you planning to put in that thing anyway?" asked the man.  
  
"Solid gold bounty my friend, solid gold bounty." said Bonesteel as he patted the crate. 


	12. Captured

Over the next few weeks, Ashton had gotten better emotionally, and there was that part of her that always searched for answers on her past, that was now laid to rest. She could finally begin to focus on other things in life. One of them being, living life with the Turtles and Splinter.  
  
Ashton, Splinter, Raph, and Leo were in the dojo. Splinter was teaching Ashton self-control; something she never really mastered.  
  
"Ninjitsu is a very disciplined art. It will help you with self- discipline. We will work more specifically on self-defense, later." said Splinter. Then he turned towards Raph and Leo, and nodded.  
  
Raph and Leo went out to the mat, and stood facing each other. They both bowed towards each other, then began a sparring match.  
  
"Watch carefully as they use evasive maneuvers, and are able to appear to fight, but without harming each other. Notice their self control." said Splinter.  
  
Ashton focused intently on them; eyes following their every move.  
  
Raph and Leo performed perfectly. Raph won, and they both stood facing each other once more, bowed, then walked off of the mat.  
  
Ashton clapped. "That was great! You guys didn't even try to kill each other. If you two can do it, I must be able to." she smiled.  
  
Raph smiled.  
  
"Leonardo, you must work on some things. We will talk later." said Splinter.  
  
"Yes Master." said Leo.  
  
"You two may leave now." said Splinter.  
  
"Yes Master." said Leo and Raph together.  
  
Leo then left the room.  
  
"Good luck kiddo." said Raph.  
  
"Thanks." smiled Ashton.  
  
Raph then left the dojo.  
  
"Come, we must begin your lessons." said Splinter.  
  
They then both walked out to the mat, and Splinter began teaching Ashton the art of self-discipline.  
  
  
  
One night a few weeks later, Ashton went out to get some pizza for the guys. She walked into the pizza parlor with a black hat on, and sunglasses.  
  
"A little dark for sunglasses ain't it?" asked the guy behind the desk.  
  
"Nope." said Ashton quite matter-of-factly. She ordered the pizza, then began leaving the pizza parlor.  
  
As she walked on, she heard footsteps silently following her. She stopped, the footsteps stopped. She began walking again, then stopped again. The footsteps did the same. Ashton then began walking fast, and suddenly stopped. The footsteps stopped after she did. She looked around, but could see no one, and hear no sign of advancement towards her, so she continued to walk on some more, and turned a corner. She began walking down the street.  
  
Suddenly, 5 guys jumped at her from behind a garbage dumpster.  
  
"Aaah!" Ashton screamed, dropping the pizza.  
  
One of the guys grabbed her.  
  
Ashton pushed him away, sending him flying to the other side of the street.  
  
"Whoa." said one of the guys in front of her.  
  
Then from behind, someone snatched her hat off.  
  
Ashton spun around and saw that it was another guy. She quickly put her hands over her head.  
  
"It *is* her! We're gonna get paid big for this guys, get her!" said the guy who pulled Ashton's hat off.  
  
Ashton took off her sunglasses and threw them to the side.  
  
The first guy that came at her got a hard kick in the stomach, and he fell over. Hearing someone approach from behind, Ashton spun around, and delivered several punches to his face, then spin-kicked another guy coming at her, below the belt. He fell over and laid on the ground groaning in pain.  
  
Ashton was so busy fighting the guys, that she didn't even notice that they were joined by someone else.  
  
"Hold 'er steady boys." said a familiar voice.  
  
Ashton turned and saw Bonesteel there with a tranquilizer gun. She turned to run, but it was too late.  
  
Bonesteel fired the tranquilizer gun, hitting Ashton on her upper arm.  
  
Ashton soon fell unconscious.  
  
"Yes!" exclaimed an ecstatic Bonesteel.  
  
"Okay, we got you the girl, now give us the money." said one of the guys as they all approached Bonesteel.  
  
"Of course fellas." said Bonesteel. Then he handed each one of them a stack of money. "A pleasure doin' business with ya."  
  
"No problem man, anytime." said the guys. They then smiled as they counted their money, and walked off.  
  
Bonesteel went over to Ashton. "You're comin' with me little lady." He put Ashton over his shoulder, and carried her back to his hideout. 


	13. Found

At his hideout, Bonesteel put Ashton in the strong cage that he bought.  
  
He grinned as he looked at her lying unconsciously in the cage. He then put down his tranquilizer gun and walked off.  
  
At the Turtle lair, Mikey's stomach was growling.  
  
"Man, where's Ashton? I'm hungry!" he said.  
  
"I hope she didn't run off to Quease's lab." said Leo.  
  
"I sincerely doubt it. Ashton and I have spoken about that." said Splinter.  
  
"So where is she then?" asked Leo.  
  
Donny went straight to his computer. He booted up the "eye in the sky" program, and began searching for her.  
  
"Hm." said Donny.  
  
"Did you find anything?" asked Venus.  
  
"Yeah, I found her on 34th Street, but she's stationary, and she's a good while's away from the pizza place where she usually gets pizza for us from." said Donny.  
  
"That's not like her to just wander off like that . . . she's in trouble." said Raph.  
  
"Definitely." said Donny.  
  
"We gotta get 'er, but I can't fight well on an empty stomach." said Mikey.  
  
"There's a slice of pizza from last week in the fridge you can eat Mikey, let's just go." said Raph.  
  
"Really? Cool!" said Mikey, then he went to the fridge.  
  
"Hey wait, that was my penicillin experiment!" said Donny.  
  
Mikey didn't hear him, and went to eating the pizza.  
  
"Ugh." said Splinter in disgust.  
  
"Oh gosh. Well, look at the bright side, now he'll be protected from infection for a while." said Donny.  
  
"Uh, yeah, let's just go." said Raph. Then he grabbed his sai off the weapon's rack, and began leaving.  
  
"Remember Raphael, no motorcycle." said Splinter.  
  
Raph let out a deep, heavy sigh, then just continued walking.  
  
Leo snickered as they all began leaving.  
  
Venus hit Leo for snickering.  
  
  
  
The Turtles made it to 34th Street, and looked around.  
  
"I don't get it, I don't see Ashton anywhere around here." said Leo.  
  
Raph looked up at an abandoned building. "I think I know where she is."  
  
"Where?" asked Mikey.  
  
Raph pointed at the building.  
  
"Why would she be in there?" asked Donny.  
  
"There's only one way to find out." said Raph as he began walking towards the building.  
  
The others followed.  
  
Inside was dark and smelled wet and musty. They could hear rodents scurrying and squeaking in the darkness.  
  
"Man, this place wreaks!" said Mikey, waving his hand in front of his nose.  
  
"Ashton? Ashton?" called Venus.  
  
There was no reply, so they searched throughout the building.  
  
Just then, Venus stopped. "Wait." she said.  
  
"What?" asked Leo.  
  
"I hear someone coming." she said.  
  
Everyone stood silent, and heard footsteps. The footsteps went into the next room.  
  
"Come on, let's go the other way." said Leo.  
  
They then went in the opposite direction of the footsteps.  
  
After a while, they reached the roof.  
  
There, they looked around.  
  
"Look! There she is!" said Raph. He and the others went over to the cage where Ashton, still unconscious, was in.  
  
"Oh man, he got her _again_." said Mikey.  
  
"We've gotta get her out. Anyone have a lock pick or something?" asked Leo.  
  
Raph took his pocket knife out, and handed it to Leo.  
  
Leo looked at it for a moment. "I won't even ask *why* you have this thing." He then put the knife in the lock, and began trying to pick it.  
  
Suddenly, a loud alarm went off.  
  
Ashton twitched in the cage.  
  
The Turtles looked around frantically.  
  
"Whoa, what's that?" asked Mikey.  
  
They heard running, and soon saw Bonesteel on the roof. He quickly picked up a gun and went over to them. "Trying to steal 'er again, huh? Not this time freaks!"  
  
"Turtles, vanish!" said Leo.  
  
The Turtles got up, and began running to the fire escape.  
  
Bonesteel fired the gun at them.  
  
A dart hit Mikey, and he fell to the ground.  
  
"Mikey!" exclaimed Leo. He and the others ran over to pick him up.  
  
Bonesteel fired it again, this time hitting Venus.  
  
She dropped, and Leo grabbed her before she fell off the roof.  
  
"Man, how're we gonna carry two tranquilized Turtles?" complained a distressed Donny.  
  
"Tranquilized? Hah! This ain't no tranquilizer shellbacks, this is my top of the line poison dart gun." said Bonesteel with an evil grin.  
  
"Uh oh." said Raph.  
  
Bonesteel began loading the gun up again, as the Turtles ran off, dragging Mikey and Venus.  
  
They traveled down the fire escape, trying to hold onto Mikey and Venus.  
  
Raph tripped over Venus' arm, and lost his balance, falling off of the fire escape. He was holding onto Mikey, which caused him to fall too. Since Donny was holding onto Mikey, he also fell. A chain reaction caused all of them to fall off of the fire escape halfway down it.  
  
Seeing Bonesteel appear over the edge of the building with his reloaded poison dart gun, the Turtles ran off, straight down the nearest manhole.  
  
Underground, they stood breathing hard.  
  
"Man, he almost got all of us." said Leo.  
  
"Hurry, there's no time for catching our breath, Venus and Mikey are in serious danger." said Donny.  
  
They all then ran off home.  
  
Bonesteel stood on his rooftop, looking very pleased with himself. He set his poison dart gun down on a crate. Then he turned to look at Ashton. She was still unconscious; the tranquilizer knocked her out very well.  
  
Bonesteel than looked at the sky. "Its gonna be light soon, I better keep this one indoors." he said. Then he walked over and picked up the handle to a wheeled thing under the cage, and began pulling it towards the ramp that led to the top floor.  
  
Inside there, he set the cage down, and put a cover over it, then walked off. 


	14. Recovery/Making deals

In the Turtle lair, Donatello nervously prepared an antidote for the poison that Mikey and Venus got shot with.  
  
"Hurry Donny, Mikey's heartbeat is slowing down." said Leo worriedly as he came out of Mikey's room.  
  
"I'm hurrying as fast as I can! " said Donny. "I can't work under this pressure." he mumbled to himself.  
  
Splinter sat nearby with Raph, both looking extremely worried.  
  
It was a little while later when Donny finally finished the antidote, and injected it into Mikey first, since he seemed to be fading faster.  
  
Then Donny went to Venus' room, and injected it into her. "Now, we have to keep them cool at all times, the poison raises their body temperature too much." he said, returning to his desk.  
  
"When is it going to start working?" asked Splinter.  
  
"It should be starting right now. The next few hours will tell us how well it works." said Donny, sitting down in a chair near everyone else.  
  
Everyone was silent as they hoped and prayed that both Mikey and Venus would be okay.  
  
  
  
At Bonesteel's hideout, Ashton was beginning to wake up. Everything looked very fuzzy and wobbly to her at first, but she still tried to sit up.  
  
Bonesteel sat nearby eating a sandwich.  
  
Light poured in from the windows around them, but there was no light inside the building.  
  
Ashton groaned and sat up, her vision clearing up. "Where am I?" she mumbled.  
  
"Your new home, that's where you are." said Bonesteel, not even looking up from his sandwich.  
  
Ashton quickly looked towards his direction, and narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "You." she growled.  
  
Bonesteel turned to her. "Yeah, me. What are you gonna do about it?"  
  
"Well for one thing, if you ever come anywhere near this cage, I'll tear you to shreds." said Ashton quite matter-of-factly.  
  
"That wouldn't be so smart." Bonesteel then swallowed what he was chewing. "I have the key hidden in a very safe place. Without me, you'll never come out of there."  
  
"Like you'll actually ever let me out." said Ashton bitterly.  
  
"Eh, true. Guess it sucks that I hold your life in my hands huh?" asked Bonesteel.  
  
Ashton glared at him angrily, and quietly growled.  
  
Bonesteel grinned, then got up from the chair he was sitting on. "Well, I better go. I have some business to take care of." he said. Then he tossed a wrapped sandwich into Ashton's cage. "That'll hold ya 'til I get back." Then he left.  
  
Ashton looked at the sandwich on the floor of the cage, and picked it up. She was very hungry, but wasn't sure if she should eat it. Unwrapping it, she found that it was a tuna salad sandwich. Sighing deeply, Ashton began eating it.  
  
At the Turtle lair, it was a few hours later, and Mikey started waking up.  
  
Hearing him groan, the others (except for Venus) ran in to see Mikey roll over on his bed, and throw up.  
  
"Euw, gross. Is he supposed to do that?" asked Leo.  
  
Donny nodded. "Yeah, he is. That's how the poison leaves his system."  
  
"So who's gonna clean it?" asked Raph.  
  
Everyone looks at Donny.  
  
"Huh? Oh come on, I made the antidote, the least you could do is clean up." said Donny.  
  
"Nah ah." said Leo.  
  
"No way." said Raph.  
  
Splinter sighed. "I will take care of it. But if and when Venus throws up, someone else does that."  
  
"Hey guys, why is the room spinning?" asked a dazed Mikey. Then he throws up again.  
  
"Ugh." said Splinter. "Next time, give them a bucket or something."  
  
Donny went to give Venus a bucket, as he began hearing her wake up. Then because of all the mess, he helped Splinter clean up, and then gave Mikey a bucket, which he used.  
  
Inside a condemned building in Queens, Bonesteel talked quietly with a man in the dimly lit place.  
  
The man handed Bonesteel some money. "That's the downpayment, I'll give you the rest once you make the delivery."  
  
Bonesteel smiled as he flipped through the $2,000 he was just given. "I'll have her at the old station at 9pm sharp."  
  
"Good, very good." grinned the other man.  
  
Then he and Bonesteel shook hands, and Bonesteel left. 


	15. Stress/Making promises

A few hours later, Mikey and Venus were awake, and sitting at the kitchen table while Master Splinter served them a special tea that he made to settle their stomachs.  
  
"Man, this must be what it feels like to have a hangover." said Mikey before he sipped some of the tea.  
  
Venus groaned as her stomach made weird sounds.  
  
Raph came out of his room, and went over to where Leo and Donny were standing. "So when are we going back to get Ashton?" he asked.  
  
"Raph, that's gonna be a little while. Mikey and Venus aren't gonna be ready to fight for a good while, much less dodge Bonesteel's poison dart gun." said Donny.  
  
"So we're just gonna let Ashton sit there while Bonesteel probably sells her?" asked Raph.  
  
"We'll need all of us there to successfully rescue Ashton. Mikey and Venus can't go Raph, what else are we gonna do?" asked Donny.  
  
Raph thought for a moment, and sighed. Then he went and picked up his sai, and left the lair.  
  
"Did you really have to ask?" asked Leo.  
  
Donny shrugged.  
  
  
  
Raph (still banned from using his motorcycle), traveled on foot to the building where they found Ashton the night before.  
  
When he got there, he looked around, and saw that Bonesteel's truck wasn't there; he must've been out. Raph then went into the building, as it was only halfway dark out, and he of course didn't want to be seen.  
  
Inside the building, he began climbing up the stairs.  
  
Upstairs, Ashton was getting restless.  
  
"I can't stand it here!!" she yelled. She grabbed the bars, and tried pulling them apart or breaking them, but they wouldn't budge. She then shook the cage violently in an attempt to loosen something in the cage that would cause it to open. Nothing happened; this thing was very sturdy. She let out a frustrated, loud, aggressive meow that sounded somewhat like a roar.  
  
"Whoa kid, chill." said Raph as he came into the room.  
  
Ashton's eyes adjusted to the growing darkness, and saw Raph approaching her cage. Her angry expression softened. "Raph!"  
  
"Hey Ashton." he said as he came up to the cage.  
  
"Where are the others?" asked Ashton.  
  
"They're home making sure that Mikey and Venus are okay. They got shot with poison darts when we came to get you last night." explained Raph.  
  
Ashton gasped. "Really? Oh my gosh, are they okay?"  
  
Raph nodded. "They're a little groggy, and their stomachs are upset, but they're okay otherwise."  
  
"Whew, that's a relief." said Ashton. "You came to get me out of here, right?"  
  
"Actually, I came to see how you were doin', to make sure you were okay. I can't open the lock, I already tried last night."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, last time I tried to pick this lock, an alarm went off and Bonesteel came." said Raph.  
  
"Stupid cage." growled Ashton. Then she sighed and sat back in the cage. "I hate being me. Look at me, I'm in a cage like some sort of, animal." Then she thought for a moment. "Because I am." she mumbled lowly.  
  
Raph sighed, he felt sorry for her, and didn't know what to say. "Hey, listen, it'll be okay. Believe it or not, I know a thing or two about feelin' different than everyone else."  
  
Ashton nodded with a sigh. "I know."  
  
"Don't worry kiddo, I'll get Donny to find a way to break this lock and alarm, and you'll be free; I promise."  
  
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Raph." said Ashton.  
  
"I never do." said Raph.  
  
Ashton looked at him; and gave a small smile. "Don't let me down now."  
  
"I won't." said Raph with a smile. "I sure wish I could get you out now though."  
  
"You and me both." said Ashton.  
  
Just then, they heard a truck door slam.  
  
"Uh oh, I think that creep is back." said Ashton.  
  
"I better scram then." said Raph. "I'll be back."  
  
Ashton nodded.  
  
Raph then left very silently.  
  
Bonesteel soon came upstairs and turned on a small light in the room where Ashton was.  
  
"I see you ate your sandwich." he said, then turned to rummaging through some crates.  
  
"It sucked." Ashton said glaring at him.  
  
"Too bad. Be glad you're alive." said Bonesteel.  
  
"If you can even call this living." said Ashton.  
  
"Well get used to it." said Bonesteel, then he turned around and faced her. "Because after tomorrow night, that's gonna be your permanent house. You'll possibly get a bigger one, but it'll still be a cage." he said, then turned away and began packing some things into another crate.  
  
Ashton quickly leaned forward in the cage and held the bars. "What's tomorrow night? Where am I going?" she asked worriedly.  
  
"Your new home, and your new owner." said Bonesteel.  
  
"No, no! You can't do this to me! I'm a living being with free will, you *can't* do this!" Ashton shouted.  
  
"Too bad." said Bonesteel as he turned around and came over to her cage. "Because I just did."  
  
Ashton glared at him angrily, growled, and quickly extending one of her nails, gave him an ugly scratch across upper chest, right below his neck.  
  
"Aah!" Bonesteel jumped back and touched the bleeding scratch on his chest. He angrily looked back at Ashton. "I hope he excavates and _stuffs_ your insolent hide!" Then he walked off.  
  
"When I finally get rescued, *you'll* be the one getting excavated and stuffed!" Ashton shouted after him. She looked off in that direction, then sat there, still clinging to the bars, feeling desperate to escape. "Raph, keep your promise man, please." 


	16. The Rescue Pt. 1

At the lair, the next day, Mikey and Venus were much better and back to normal, both practicing in the dojo with Splinter.  
  
Donny was at his desk and computer; steadily working at making something to open the lock on the cage Ashton was in.  
  
Raph impatiently stood nearby leaned against a cabinet, watching Donny.  
  
Donny was screwing something into place.  
  
"Are you done yet?" asked Raph.  
  
Donny let out a heavy sigh and looked at Raph. "Raph, if you continue asking me that every 5 minutes, I'll have to take time out of my concentration to tell you, once again, that I'm not done. I will tell you when I'm done."  
  
Raph sighed heavily, then went to the dojo where Venus just exited. "Are you all done yet?"  
  
"Well, I am. But Michealangelo is still working on righting his coordination again. I fear the poison affected him most." said Venus.  
  
"Man, why is everything takin' so long?"  
  
"Calm down Raphael, we will get to Ashton before it is too late." said Venus.  
  
"Yeah yeah yeah, that's what everyone tells me." said Raph. Then he walked past Venus and went into the dojo.  
  
"Raphael, leave. You will distract Michealangelo." said Splinter sternly.  
  
"But . . ."  
  
"Go."  
  
"But Master . . ."  
  
"Go!"  
  
"But I just wanted to know if I can ride my motorcycle yet."  
  
"No, now go!" said Splinter.  
  
Raphael dejectedly left the dojo and slumped into the living room. "This sucks." he said. He looked to the side and noticed Leo sharpening his katanna, and watched him for a moment. "You suck too."  
  
Leo looked over at him for a moment. "Whatever." he said, then went back to sharpening his sword.  
  
Raph got annoyed by the sound of Leo's over-sharpening, and he got up, and paced around.  
  
  
  
Later that evening, as Mikey had finally left the dojo, the alarm in the lair went off.  
  
"What's that for? Dragons?" asked Leo.  
  
Donny booted up the 'eye in the sky' program on his computer. "No, it's an alert. Ashton's cage is being moved."  
  
"That's it, we've gotta go, *now*." said Raph.  
  
"I agree, Bonesteel could be taking her anywhere." said Venus.  
  
Raph grabbed his sai, and the keys to the hummer.  
  
Splinter then took the keys from him.  
  
"Aw come on Master, I can't even . . ."  
  
Splinter then handed him the keys to his motorcycle.  
  
Raph grinned. "Oh yeah! Thanks Master!"  
  
Splinter nodded with a small smile.  
  
"Let's go!" said Raph as he quickly left the lair.  
  
"Wait!" said Donny.  
  
Everyone turned around.  
  
"Don't forget those communicators I made. It took me months to make them, so we better use them." said Donny.  
  
The others each picked up a communicator, Mikey picking one up to give to Raph.  
  
Mikey, Leo, and Venus then grabbed their weapons from the rack and left too.  
  
Donny carefully picked up his invention for the lock on Ashton's cage, as well as a screwdriver, and his Bo staff, then left the lair as well.  
  
  
  
Using a portable tracking device, Donny rode in the front while Leo drove.  
  
"Turn left here." said Donny.  
  
Leo did so as the tires screeched on the pavement.  
  
Raph followed the hummer and all of the turns it made, and finally figured out where they were going. "Oh no." he said. Then he revved up his motor, and sped ahead of the hummer.  
  
"Hey, where's Raph going?" asked Leo.  
  
"Wherever it is, the tracker indicates he's going straight towards Ashton." said Donny.  
  
Leo pressed harder on the accelerator, and the hummer went faster.  
  
After a while, the Turtles heard the clanking of bells, and a railroad crossing sign.  
  
"The train station. Bonesteel must be shipping Ashton off by train." said Donny.  
  
"Come on, we gotta get her." said Mikey as he got out of the hummer.  
  
The others got out as well, and saw Raph was already checking train cars.  
  
"I can't find her." said Raph in frustration.  
  
"Keep looking." said Mikey as he peeked into a few.  
  
Suddenly, the train horn blew long and hard, and the train began moving.  
  
"Oh no, no no." said Raph. "Stop!" He began chasing the train as it began moving.  
  
"Is she even on board?" asked Leo.  
  
Donny looked at his tracker. "Oh man. I don't even know, the stupid thing shut down." He said, shaking the machine.  
  
Just then, Mikey and Venus saw Bonesteel going to his truck, as he counted money.  
  
"Heh heh, I'm a rich man." he gloated to himself.  
  
Venus gasped. "She *is* on the train!"  
  
Raph began losing pace with the train as it picked up speed.  
  
("Don't let me down now." "I won't.")  
  
Raph thought about what he last said to Ashton. "I won't. I can't let her down." With all his force, he jumped up, and grabbed onto a door handle.  
  
"He got on!" said Mikey.  
  
The train moved rapidly as Raph tried to hold on. He looked back, and soon lost sight of the others as the train rode off into the distance.  
  
Just then, ahead of him he saw that the train was coming to a rail that had a steep cliff on each side.  
  
"Oh crap." he said. Using all his might, Raph slid the door open, accidentally hitting the side of the train as well. "Ow!" He then used all his strength, and climbed into the car. It was a cargo train, so there really weren't any people aboard except for the conductor and a few others closer to the front.  
  
Once he was inside, he relaxed, and leaned against a bail of hay, breathing hard from all of the energy he just used.  
  
"Raph, are you there? Come in Raph." said Donny's voice over his communicator.  
  
Raph picked up his communicator. "Yeah I'm here? I just got in the train."  
  
The others cheered.  
  
"Way to go dude!" said Mikey.  
  
Raph chuckled. "It wasn't easy though."  
  
"I guess not." said Leo.  
  
"Did you find Ashton yet?" asked Venus.  
  
"No, not yet. I'm gonna look for her in another minute." said Raph.  
  
"Okay, well tell us when you do, and where the train stops so I can be there with the lock opener." said Donny.  
  
"Sure thing." said Raph.  
  
"Be careful Raph." said Leo.  
  
"Yeah, sure." said Raph, then he put his communicator in his belt, and got up to find Ashton. 


	17. The Rescue Pt. 2

****

*Note from the author: Sorry for the delay people, but I couldn't log in to fanfiction.net for the longest because of some website probs, and therefore couldn't upload new chapters. Don't ever worry, I'm not one of those writers that leaves you hanging, I'm gonna continue this story to the finish.* 

Okay now, back to DNA Mix-Up:

Raph looked around the traincar he was in and saw nothing but bails of hay and a rusty old cage. He then saw a door that connected the train car he was in, to the next car. He got up and walked over to it. Raph pulled hard to get it open, but the door seemed jammed. He then stepped back from it for a moment, and kicked it open. The door flung open, and Raph jumped from the car he was in, into the next one.

In there, he found a cage with a baby white tiger in it, and another with a hyena.

Just as he was about to move to the next train car, Raph heard voices, and hid behind some crates.

"I dunno 'bout that. No matta what, she's worth billions. Besides, ya heard what Bonesteel said, that cage is the strongest you can get." said one man in his Australian accent.

"Twit! That isn't gonna stop 'er from attackin' the first person who nears 'er." said the other, who also had an Australian accent, as they walked though the car Raph was in. "Ay! Who broke this door open?" 

"Ya see eny footprints?" asked the first guy.

"Naw mate, not a clue. And how d'ya x'pect ta see footprints on hay? Nitwit!" said the second guy.

"C'mon, maybe it busted, that's all." said the first guy.

"I dunno. Just keep ya eyes peeled for anything suspicious." said the second guy.

They both then just left the traincar.

Raph waited until he heard both of them leave, then he went to the other connecting door. He then opened it, and went into the next car. There was nothing in there except for some exotic spiders and insects. Raph left there, and traveled through the next 3 cars.

In the fourth one, Raph stopped and looked around.

"Ashton?" he called, as he did in all of the other cars.

He heard a slight noise, and turned around.

There, Ashton was holding onto the bars in her cage. She got a very worried expression on her face. "Look out!!" she shouted.

Raph looked confused, but soon found out why Ashton looked worried.

A man jumped onto Raph's shell, and took out a hunting knife.

Raph quickly spun around and floored the guy. They struggled for control of the knife as the man tried to get the knife to Raph's neck.

Raph soon got control of the knife, and flung it out of an open window in the train car. He then hooked the man several times across the face, leaving the guy unconscious.

Raph stood up and looked around, then looked back at Ashton. "Anymore surprises?" he asked.

"No, not except these two Australian guys walking around here somewhere." said Ashton.

"Ah I saw them, they're not gonna be any trouble." said Raph, coming over to Ashton's cage.

Ashton then looked at him. "Ya know, I started thinking it was too late for me, that you'd never come." Then she smiled. "But you came."

"And why are you gonna think somethin' like that? I told ya kid, I don't make promises I can't keep." said Raph.

Ashton smiled. "You're the best."

"Eh, I know." said Raph.

Ashton giggled. "So, where are the others?"

"They couldn't get up on the train, so Donny wanted me to let 'im know when I found ya. He'll be waiting at the next train stop with the lock opener." said Raph.

"Cool." said Ashton.

Raph then picked up his communicator and turned it on. "Wassup dudes." 

"Raph? Is that you? Thank goodness, we were getting worried." said Donny.

"Ah, no need to worry about me. Guess what? I found Ashton." said Raph.

Back at the train station, everyone started cheering.

"Great job Raph!" said Donny.

"We knew you could do it." said Venus.

"Thanks." said Raph. "I don't know where this train is stoppin', so that's up to you guys."

"No need to worry, I found that out not too long ago. Its stopping in another two hours, and we know where. We'll meet ya there." said Leo.

"Okay, good. We'll be waiting." said Raph.


	18. Rescued!

****

Raph sat down next to Ashton's cage, and breathed deeply. He turned to Ashton.

"How have you been holdin' out?" asked Raph.

"Eh, I could be better. I haven't eaten since I got on this stupid train and I'm hungry as heck." said Ashton. "Those exotic birds across the room are looking mighty scrumptious right about now."

The birds in their cages on the other side of the room looked at Ashton suspiciously.

"Dang, you eat birds too?" asked Raph.

"Of course." said Ashton. "But I wouldn't eat those normally, they're too pretty to eat."

Raph chuckled. 

Ashton yawned.

"You tired?" asked Raph.

"Yeah, well, now I am. I couldn't sleep at all thinking I was gonna be someone's cage pet forever." said Ashton. "Now, I can be tired in peace."

"Go ahead and take a nap. I'm here just in case anyone decides to mess wit ya." said Raph.

"Thanks." smiled Ashton. She then leaned onto the side of the cage where Raph was and slowly fell asleep.

Raph just got comfortable by leaning on the cage as well.

A couple of hours later, it was nighttime.

Raph, who had accidentally fallen asleep, awoke to the sounds of screeching train wheels and the train horn. He stretched and yawned, then looked over at Ashton, who was still asleep. Raph didn't want to have to wake her up, but he had to.

"Ashton, Ashton. C'mon kid, wake up." said Raph, gently nudging her.

Ashton twitched a bit, then yawned, and sleepily looked towards Raph. "Did the train stop yet?"

"Yep, it just did." replied Raph.

Ashton sat up in the cage. "How are the others gonna find us?"

"I don't know, I think I'll stand outside for a little while to guide them over to us by landmarks or something." said Raph.

The train soon came to a full stop, and Raph stood up. 

"Holler if you see anyone coming." said Raph.

"I will." said Ashton.

Raph then opened the front door of the train car, and looked around. He saw some artificial trees, and a pole in front of him. "Hmm." he thought for a moment, then turned his communicator on. "Yo, you guys there?"

"Right here Raph, we see the train just stopped." said Leo. "We need your location."

"Yeah, that's why I called yas. Listen, there's some trees, and a pole. Can ya find 'em?" asked Raph.

"Well, we can find the pole, but there's a lot of trees around here." said Leo.

"Nah man, these are like, fake-looking trees or somethin." said Raph.

"Oh, well, we'll try and find them." said Leo.

"Be careful, there's some bounty hunters 'round here." said Raph.

"Okay, we'll be careful. See you soon." 

Raph turned off his communicator and began looking around outside for the others.

Just then, he heard Ashton. "Raph!" she yelled.

Raph turned around, and saw the two Australian bounty hunter guys from earlier trying to pick up Ashton's cage.

Ashton extended her nails, and scratched them as soon as they got too close. She hissed angrily as she held her nails out, ready to attack.

"She's a live one." said the first guy.

Raph took out his sai and went after them. "You two wanna leave 'er alone, or do I have ta make ya leave her alone?"

"Crikey! Wouldja looky there!" said the second guy.

"Bonesteel was right." said the first guy.

"We're gonna be rich men." said the second guy as he took out a long knife (not quite a sword).

"Eh, I don't think so." said Raph, joining the handles of his sai.

Spinning the sai, Raph knocked the knife out of the second bounty hunter's hand.

The other crept up behind Raph and held a knife to his neck.

Ashton gasped. She shook the cage violently, in an attempt to get out and help Raph, but it was no use; she was stuck. She let out a frustrated meow/growl-type sound.

Raph stopped moving as the knife inched closer to his neck.

"That's right Turtle, keep still." said the first hunter, who had the knife to Raph's neck.

The second hunter picked up the knife that Raph knocked out of his hands. "Okay, drop the weapon shellback. Remember you're worth a lot, dead or alive." he said.

Raph complied, and dropped his sai.

"Raph! What are you doing?! Don't listen to them!" exclaimed Ashton.

"You hush up you little brat." said the second hunter, pointing his knife to her.

"I'd like to see you come here and make me." Ashton challenged.

As the second hunter was distracted, Raph quickly ducked his head into his shell.

"Hey!" exclaimed the first hunter, who had been holding the knife to Raph's neck.

Raph then turned around, popped his head back out of his shell, and hooked the first hunter really hard in the stomach.

The first hunter fell over on the ground in pain.

Raph spun around just as the second hunter was coming at him with his knife. Raph grabbed the hunter's wrist, took his knife, and flung it over to the side. Then he hooked the hunter really hard in the stomach, and he too fell over in pain.

Raph knew that the hunters would be up again soon, so he ran over to the front of the train car, and opened the door. He jumped out and looked around.

"Hey Raph! We found ya!" said Mikey.

Raph turned around.

"Where's Ashton?" asked Donny.

"Right in here. We gotta hurry, these hunter dudes aren't gonna stay down too long." said Raph.

The Turtles went inside the train car, and over to Ashton's cage. The two hunters were gone.

"Where'd they go?" asked Raph.

"They said they had to get 'the boss', or something." said Ashton.

"Well, we don't know who 'the boss' is, so we better get going soon." said Leo.

Donny kneeled in front of Ashton's cage, and put the pointy end of his device into the keyhole of the lock on the cage. He pressed a few buttons on the device, and after a loud "Click!" sound, the door opened.

Ashton quickly pushed open the door and ran out. "I'm free!!" she exclaimed while stretching.

"Woo hoo! The cat's out of the bag, uh, cage!" said Mikey.

Ashton giggled.

"I think I still hear 'em!" they heard an Australian accent say.

"Turtles, and uh, cat, vanish." said Leo.

They all then exited the train, and concealed in the darkness of the night, went back to the Hummer.


	19. Home At Last

**Back at the lair, Master Splinter happily greeted Ashton as she came in.**

"Welcome back Ashton." he said with a smile.

"Hi Splinter!" she said happily as she gave him a hug. "Its soo good to be back." Ashton then went straight for the fridge in the kitchen.

"Heh, she's becoming just like Mikey." chuckled Raph.

"I learned from the master." Ashton smiled towards Mikey as she munched on some lunchmeat.

Donny sat down at his invention desk with a big grin on his face. "I, am, a, genius." He sighed, looking at his cage-opening device.

"Now I may finally relax, knowing that Ashton is safe and sound." said Venus.

"I wonder what Bonesteel is gonna say when he finds out that his 'package' never reached its destination." Ashton wondered aloud.

She, Mikey, and Raph looked at each other for a moment, then busted out laughing.

At Bonesteel's hideout, the phone rang. He sleepily picked it up.

"What?"

Yelling was heard on the other end.

Bonesteel sat up quickly from his bed. "What do you mean she never reached you?!"

"Just what I said you idiot! I never got her, just an empty cage!" yelled the other person. He then rambled on and on, continuing to yell.

"Yes sir, I know sir. The money? What?"

The yelling momentarily got louder.

Bonesteel sighed deeply. "Yes sir, I know. Okay. Yes, I'll be here tomorrow mornin' so he can, pick up, the money. Yes, good—" The man hung up before Bonesteel could finish saying 'goodbye'.

Bonesteel slammed down the phone, and shook slightly as his face became flushed with anger. "TURTLES!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled angrily.

That night, Ashton went to sleep on her favorite napping spot; the ledge right above Raph's traincar/room. She had two blankets and an old pillow up there. She never felt completely safe sleeping at ground level.

At the dragon fortress, Dr. Quease was looking through his file cabinets, and noticed that most of Ashton's files were missing.

"Darn Turtles." he mumbled. Then he stood in the middle of his room and thought. "If I could just get that girl back here . . ." He could finish his thought; the possibilities were endless. He could study her, and finally write a conclusion on the theory of hybridization.

Just then, he heard Dragon Lord's voice over the fortress' intercom.

"Quease, bring that stomach tonic you made last week. Wick has an upset stomach."

"Yes sir Dragon Lord." said Dr. Quease. He then picked up a vial of steaming yellow liquid, and went to D.L.'s throne room.

In there, he handed the vial to Dragon Lord. "Here you are sir."

Dragon Lord took the vial, and poured its contents into a bowl right next to the ailing Wick. "Drink that."

Wick groaned, and leaned over to begin drinking out of the bowl.

Dragon Lord gave the vial back to Dr. Quease. "You may go now."

"Yes sir." said Dr. Quease, but as he turned to leave, a thought struck him, and he turned back around. "Dragon Lord? May I ask a question?"

"What is it?" asked Dragon Lord impatiently.

"Um, its about, well, that hybrid girl I was telling you about the other day." said Dr. Quease.

"The one that slayed four of my rank in one day? What about her?" asked Dragon Lord.

"Well, as you know, she's an experiment of mine from a long time ago, and well, I want to be able to, well, get her into a laboratory setting again, for some tests." said Dr. Quease.

"Surely you don't expect me to send my rank out to capture some feline for you to toy with." said Dragon Lord flatly.

"No, I just, well what I'm trying to say is, whenever we plan an attack on the Turtles, since she's with them, I'd like the rank to try and capture her." explained Dr. Quease.

Dragon Lord appeared to be thinking for a moment. "You have caught me in one of my better moods Quease, lucky for you. I will indulge your wish, but after you are done testing on her and what not, you are to give her to me." 

"For what purpose may I ask, Dragon Lord?" asked Dr. Quease.

"Why else? To be eaten. Certainly a mutagen of some sort courses through her veins, and what better compliment to a mutant meal, than a hybrid dessert?" Dragon Lord explained.

"Why yes, of course." said Dr. Quease, wishing that Ashton would remain his, ever after testing was complete.

Just then, Wick let out a large belch.

Dragon Lord and Dr. Quease looked at him.

"Ooo my, that did it." said Wick, obviously looking quite relieved. "Not bad, human."

Dr. Quease smiled grimly. He then turned to Dragon Lord, bowed slightly, then left. As he walked to his lab, he grinned, thinking of how wonderful it would be to capture Ashton, and how close his goal was.


	20. Decisions

"No way! No way! You won again!" exclaimed Ashton after Mikey won another game of cards.

"Ah yes, I am the champion." smiled a proud Mikey.

"You have got to be cheating." said Ashton.

"Nah, that's Raph's forte." said Mikey.

Just then, the alarm went off.

"Uh oh." said Mikey and Ashton together.

Donny went to the computer. "Oh goody." he said sarcastically.

"What's up?" asked Leo as he came to the computer with the others.

"The rank is on the move again. They're heading towards, let's see . . . a homeless shelter?" Donny scratched his head in puzzlement.

"I don't get it." said Mikey.

"They're going there to eat." said Raph.

"Exactly. The dragons probably feel that people don't care about the homeless, so if a few are missing, there won't be a big deal. Its really sad, but true." explained Ashton.

"Well then, its time we save the homeless from a most awful death." said Venus.

Everyone began leaving. 

"Can I ride on the back of the motorcycle this time? The Hummer is really stuffy." said Ashton.

"No problem kid." said Raph.

They all then went out to the vehicles, and out to the homeless shelter.

When they got there, they parked the vehicles in the shadows, and went over to the shelter.

"Everything seems quiet." said Leo.

"Not really." said Ashton as he ears twitched in different directions. "Step back from the alleyway!" she exclaimed.

Everyone jumped back just as a laser ray soared through, exactly where Leo had been standing.

"Whoa." said Leo.

Everyone began taking out their weapons.

Soon, the dragon army emerged from the alleyway, one of the dragons holding a homeless little girl who was too weak and afraid to try and get away. 

"I suggest you let go of the kid, leatherhead." said Raph, connecting the handles of his sai.

"I suggest you put down your weapon." said the dragon, holding a knife to the little girl's throat.

The little girl began whimpering.

The Turtles stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Where did Ashton go?" asked Venus.

"What? She abandoned us?" asked Leo.

"Never that. Wherever she is, she's got a plan." said Mikey. Then he looked behind the dragons, and smiled.

From on top of the two-floored homeless shelter, Ashton smiled back. Leaning back on her legs, she prepared for a far leap.

After a few seconds, she leaped off of the building, and onto the back of the dragon holding the little girl.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Mikey.

Leo raised his eyebrows.

Ashton quickly disarmed the dragon of the knife.

Donny pulled the little girl away from the dragon just as he was about to fall on her.

Ashton took out her nails and slashed through his neck, leaving the dragon to bleed to death. She then got off, and turned to the other dragons near her with her nails out. 

"Anybody want some?"

The dragons looked unsure, but still took out their weapons.

The Turtles then stood next to Ashton, all of them with their weapons out and ready for action.

"You leatherheads still sure you want some'a this?" asked Raph.

"You have not won yet, Turtles, and, cat. Dragon Lord will have his revenge." said one of the dragons as they began retreating.

"Yeah, that's it. Keep it moving." said Donny.

After the dragons left, they all went back home.

"That, was good." said Leo as he put away his katanna.

"That was really good." said Venus.

"We work good together, kid. I gotta hand it to ya." said Donny.

Ashton smiled, then she saw a commercial on the television about a vacation spot in Brazil. She moved closer to the TV.

Mikey saw what she was seeing, and stood next to her by the television.

Ashton looked at it intently. 

"You going back?" asked Mikey.

"I don't know." said Ashton. "I don't know."

That night, Ashton went out to Central Park, and sat in the same tree Raph had found her that night.

As she stretched out on a branch, she heard someone coming. Peering down from the tree she saw that it was none other than Raph.

He stopped as soon as he got under the tree Ashton was in. "I know you're up there." he said.

"So this must be our meeting spot huh?" asked Ashton. 

"I guess." said Raph, leaning against the tree.

They were quiet for a while.

"Mikey told me about the commercial you saw. You decided if you're going back yet or not?" asked Raph.

Ashton sighed. "I don't know." Then she jumped down from the tree and stood in front of Raph. "I might need some help deciding."

"What are friends for?" said Raph.

Ashton smiled.


	21. Decided and Happy

Leo paced back and forth in the living room, then stopped to look at Venus, who was calmly sewing a hole in one of Master Splinter's robes.

"Aren't you even worried?!" exclaimed Leo.

Venus got startled and jumped. She then looked up at Leo. "Why?"

"Oh I don't know. It might be because Raph and Ashton didn't come back last night!!!" Leo exclaimed.

"They are fine, I can feel it." said Venus.

"Venus is right. I have a feeling that they are fine." said Splinter.

"But where could they be Master?" asked Leo, sitting down next to Splinter at the kitchen table. "Raph has never disappeared for this long."

"Yes he has." said Venus and Master Splinter together.

"Well that was when he was mad. But he wasn't mad." said Leo. "He met up with Ashton, what if she did something to him?"

Venus shot him a glare. "Don't _say_ things like that. Ashton is very nice."

Leo sighed frustratedly.

Just then, Mikey and Donny came back.

"That sure was a short trip. Did you find anything?" asked Leo.

"Yeah, a note on the parking spot for Raph's cycle." said Mikey.

"It reads." said Donny, clearing his throat. 

__

"Hey everyone,

Listen, Ashton and me took a little trip. We'll be back in a few days, don't worry, we'll be okay. See ya soon.

Sincerely,

Raph and Ashton

P.S. Leo stop pacin' and blamin' Ashton, and sit ya shell down."

Venus snickered. "He knows you well."

Leo made a displeased face.

"The note proves that Raphael, and Ashton are just fine." said Splinter.

"Yes Leonardo, they are fine. So take Raphael's advice, and . . ."

"Sit ya shell down!" Mikey, Donny, and Venus said all together.

Master Splinter laughed.

Leo looked indignant, then went to his traincar/room.

A few days later, in the middle of the night, they heard footsteps.

Leo, the light sleeper, was the first one up. He came out to the living room, and turned the lights on.

"You're back!" he exclaimed.

"No kiddin'." said Raph.

Hearing Leo's exclamation, everyone else woke up, and soon came out to the living room.

"Welcome back you two." said Donny.

"Whoa, nice headgear!" said Mikey, referring to the large leaves that Ashton and Raph had on their heads.

"Oh! We forgot to take these things off." said Ashton, taking the leaf off of her head. 

Raph took the leaf off of his head too.

"Where exactly did you two go?" asked Donny.

"Brazil." said Raph and Ashton together.

"Stowed away on the cargo area of a ship I presume?" asked Mikey.

"Yep, thanks for the idea Mikey." smiled Ashton.

"Anytime." said Mikey.

"Those rainstorms down there are brutal!" said Raph, sitting down on the couch.

Ashton put down a couple of bags, and sat down on the couch too.

"So why did you two go? What happened there?" asked Leo as everyone else sat down.

"Well, I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay or not. Cos I love the company here, and all of you. But yet, I missed the rainforest, and the beauty of the forest where I lived, the way the air smelled . . ."

"So I traveled to Brazil with Ashton so we could make a decision. Well, she finally decided, and packed up her stuff, and came back." said Raph.

"You're staying? Awesome!!" exclaimed Raph.

"Yeah." smiled Ashton. "I figured you all needed a little extra help and all."

"And you would've missed us too." said Donny.

Ashton nodded. "Yeah, that too." 

"Uh huh, don't try and make it sound like you're doing it just for us." joked Leo.

Ashton giggled.

"So what's in all of those bags?" asked Mikey.

"Mostly fabrics and tools I used to make my clothes, as well as weapons I used to kill my food, and some of those big leaves for when the heavy rains come." explained Ashton.

"Well, it looks like you're staying for good." smiled Master Splinter. "Welcome to the family Ashton."

"Group hug!!" exclaimed Mikey.

"Eh, why not?" said Raph.

They all joined together for a hug, and then parted, laughing.

"You chose your room yet?" asked Donny.

"Yep." said Ashton. "The top of Raph's traincar."

"Excellent choice madam. Would you like some help carrying your bags to your room?" asked Mikey, pretending he was a butler.

"Why yes, thank you." said Ashton. She then jumped on top of the traincar, and took the bags that Mikey handed to her.

And so, Ashton continued to live with Master Splinter, and the Turtles; her family.

THE END.

*That's all folks! Thanks for the reviews and everything, I really appreciate it! I hope you've enjoyed the story! See ya later dudes and dudettes!*


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